


Taekwondon't Touch My Best Friend

by beansproutstories



Series: Taekwondon't Touch My Best Friend [1]
Category: SEVENTEEN (Band)
Genre: Action, Bullying, Gyuhao, I APOLOGIZE, I tried my best, Implied/Referenced Suicide, M/M, Mental Health Issues, Violence, btw the entire ot13 makes an appearance, but if youre here for protective worried mingyu, choi seungcheol was born to be a taekwondo instructor, go find some gyuhao fluff, go read some uplifting material, guys im saying this because i care about you, if youre looking for romance, if youre sensitive to mental health issues, its just, like rose petals and table cloths, love yourself, maybe dont read this fic, or bullying, seungkwan and seokmin and dino and jihoon either appear for about 4 seconds or are just mentioned, there are just SO MANY OF THEM, there wont be much of that, this story will likely feature sadness so i apologize in advance, youve come to the right place
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-02-08
Updated: 2017-03-03
Packaged: 2018-09-22 20:17:24
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 14
Words: 36,820
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9623834
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/beansproutstories/pseuds/beansproutstories
Summary: Based on a prompt from dailyau.tumblr.com; Seungcheol gets a new student in his dojo who needs protecting, so he recruits his good friend Mingyu to look after him. Seungcheol is the protective big brother friend. Hoshi is the friend that nobody deserves but everyone needs. Jisoo didn't ask for 99% of what happens in his life. Mingyu didn’t expect to care so much. “Everybody needs someone who is willing to fight for them.”





	1. Welcome to Class

“Okay, guys, we’re done for today,” Seungcheol said, bowing deeply to his students. They bowed back and thanked him then filed out of the dojo, chatting and laughing with each other. Seungcheol wiped sweat off of his forehead and tucked the top part of his gi around his waist, sporting the blue tank top that he wore underneath. Once everyone had gone, he walked over to the bulletin board hanging on the wall left of the mats. Seungcheol looked at the photos and newspaper articles given to him my parents and some he’d collected himself. His taekwondo class had grown a lot since he started up, not sure if his little dojo would make it. But Seungcheol’s classes were inexpensive compared to the other places around, and he was young and well-known in the neighborhood. He only graduated from high school a couple years ago, and he wasn’t sure what he wanted to do, so he put his college education on hold, moved in with his childhood best friend, Hoshi, and started a dojo. His class attracted a lot of good kids from all around, a lot of them not far from his age. It was almost strange to be teaching kids who were first years at his own high school when he was a senior, even kids like Mingyu who’s only a couple of years younger than he is. But Mingyu was more of a friend than a student.

“Excuse me?”

Seungcheol snapped out of his reminiscing. He didn’t even hear anyone come in. He turned to see a kid in a school uniform jacket standing halfway in the door. “Come on in,” Seungcheol called.

He recognized this kid. They went to the same high school, but he didn’t speak to Seungcheol very much. In fact, this kid didn’t speak very much to anybody. Seungcheol knew that he was always self-conscious of his speech since Korean wasn’t his first language.

“Are you here for class or are you looking for somebody?” Seungcheol asked. If he remembers right, he thinks that the kid’s name is Minghao. He’d be a senior now.

Minghao stepped in shyly and flattened out his uniform blazer. “I was wondering if, maybe… Are you still taking people? For the um–” Minghao had trouble making eye contact with Seungcheol– “for class, I mean.”

“I can always take one more person,” Seungcheol replied with a smile. “Have you ever taken taekwondo before?”

Minghao shook his head. 

“Okay,” Cheol started, “We’ll start you off in beginners’ class then. Sound okay?” 

Minghao hesitated, his eyes falling on twiddling thumbs. “Will I learn how to fight?” he asked innocently. 

“I mean, I guess that’s sort of the idea,” Seungcheol responded, “but you will have a ways to go before you’re ready for anything lofty.”

Minghao took in a deep breath, as if preparing to make a case. “I’d like to take a higher level class, please,” he murmured to Seungcheol.

Cheol was caught off guard by Minghao’s request. “I mean, I guess I could let you do that. But, are you sure? You’d be pretty behind everyone else in the class.” 

“I’m sure.” Minghao answered quickly, as if anxious to make his request and flee as quickly as he could. 

Seungcheol looked at Minghao for a few seconds, trying to meet his gaze. Minghao would not look up from his fingers. 

“Your name is Minghao, right?” Seungcheol asked.

Minghao looked up to meet his eyes. Seungcheol could sense something disheartening about Minghao’s expression, like there was a well-hidden inkling of desperation behind his meek, gentle gaze. “Minghao, is there any reason in particular that you’re here in my dojo right now?”

“I want to learn how to fight.”

Seungcheol began to put pieces together. “But why do you want to learn to fight?”

Minghao held Seungcheol’s gaze for the first time since the conversation started. Seungcheol had seen that look before – defensive, wide-eyed, terrified. Like everybody else, Seungcheol had always seen it, but he hadn’t realized that he’d seen it. When they were in school together, Seungcheol would see Minghao walking out of class as quickly as he could, as if he were late for something or trying to not run into someone. Seungcheol saw how boys would run into him with their shoulders as they walked past Minghao in the hallways. He saw how Minghao would never quite look them in the eyes. Seungcheol could see now that he was afraid.

“Minghao,” Seungcheol started, as gently as he could muster, “this isn’t the place to learn how to get back at the people who hurt you.”

“That’s not what I want.”

Seungcheol waited for Minghao to elaborate, partly because he wasn’t sure what to say to the kid.

After a moment of tense silence, Minghao dropped his backpack on the the ground. While still holding Seungcheol’s gaze, he began to take off his blazer. “This is why I’m here.” Minghao dropped his uniform blazer on the floor to reveal arms that were riddled with large purple and black bruises and even a few newly scabbed cuts. He pulled up his tee shirt to reveal two more large black bruises on his chest and torso and what seemed to be a jagged cut that ran from his side to his lower back. 

Shocked, Seungcheol brought his hand to his mouth and stared at the bruises. Any words he might have gathered up to console Minghao had suddenly evaporated. Her certainly didn’t know what to say now. 

Minghao threw his shirt back down. “I just want to try and survive until I get out of this town,” Minghao said, breaking the silence once more. “So please, will you help me?”

Seungcheol’s eyes flicked up to meet Minghao’s. Maybe he’d just imagined it, but it almost looked as though Minghao’s eyes had become glazed over, as though biting back tears. Without speaking, Seungcheol walked over to Minghao. As Seungcheol moved his hand to place it on Minghao’s shoulder, the boy flinched slightly, causing the knot in Seungcheol’s chest to tighten. Even more than that, Seungcheol’s blood began to boil. How could somebody do this to a person?

“The intermediate class is on Wednesdays at 6pm,” Seungcheol said. “I expect to see you there.”

Minghao’s expression softened to a look of vague astonishment, as if he didn’t except his plan to actually work. 

“And if anybody even lays a finger on you again,” Seungcheol’s tone became grave with anger, “they answer to me.” 

 

Mingyu liked to come in early on Wednesdays to eat a meal with Seungcheol before class. Or rather, Seungcheol liked to invite Mingyu for meals because Mingyu made great food. Mingyu had to take the subway into town where the dojo was, and every Wednesday the people standing next to him on the train would smell whatever he’d made. For hungry commuters, Wednesday was not a good day to ride the subway home.

It was a rainy afternoon, so Mingyu was careful not to let his casserole get soaked as he hopped up the creaky iron steps leading up to Seungcheol’s dojo. Mingyu flung the door open and stepped inside. After shaking his hair out like a wet dog, Mingyu called out for Seungcheol. “Hyung!” he called out. “I brought casserole!” 

Mingyu heard a distant “Aaaaayyyyy!” from the other room and laughed to himself. 

“I have plates!” Seungcheol called. 

“Great!” Mingyu replied, hanging his wet raincoat on one of the coat hooks next to the front entrance. He set the casserole down in the middle of the floor, because that’s usually where the two would share their meal before class.

Seungcheol walked in with two square plates stacked on one another balancing in one hand and forks in the other. “Hey, Mingyu?”

Mingyu sashayed over and grabbed the plates out of Seungcheol’s hand so he didn’t drop them. “Yeah, hyung?” 

“Remind me to ask you about something in a second. I’m going to grab some drinks.”

Mingyu nodded and squatted down on the balls of his feet next to the casserole. He placed one plate on each side and sat down next to them. 

Seungcheol walked in with two sodas and handed one to Mingyu. Mingyu took it with a quick “thanks” and Seungcheol sat down beside him.

“Now, you wanted to ask me something?” Mingyu said, taking a sip of his soda.

“Um, yeah,” Seungcheol started, removing the tin foil from the casserole, “I wanted to talk to you about a new guy we’re hopefully going to have in class today.”

“Hopefully?”

Seungcheol sighed. “I mean, if the kid is still alive since last time I saw him.”

Mingyu widened his eyes and furrowed his brows. “What do you mean?”

“Mingyu, I’m not kidding,” Seungcheol mumbled after shoving a forkful of food in his mouth, “somebody has been beating the crap out of this kid. Like, seriously. It’s bad. So–” he pointed at Mingyu with his fork– “that’s what I was going to ask you about.”

Mingyu was still trying to process what Seungcheol was telling him. “What did you want me to do?”

“Well, you guys are the same age. He’s a senior too at the school I graduated from. I was just wondering if, maybe, you could just look after him. Make friends with him. Make sure he survives the walk home, maybe?”

Mingyu looked incredulously at Seungcheol, but stayed quiet.

“Look, I know I’m putting a lot on you. But I’ll be looking after him too.” Seungcheol scooped more casserole onto his plate. “It’s just– he doesn’t have anybody, Mingyu. And I just think that you’d be really good for him.”

Mingyu poked at his casserole awkwardly with his fork. “Hyung, didn’t you just meet this guy? Why are you so invested?”

Seungcheol shrugged. “Paternal instinct? I don’t know. Besides, if you saw what those guys did to this kid, you’d be angry too,” he said, taking another bite.

Mingyu gritted his teeth in thought. 

“You’ll like him,” Seungcheol reassured. “I can feel it. Who knows? You guys might even become best friends.”

Mingyu laughed half-heartedly at Seungcheol. “Since when have you ever been wrong?” There was a twinge of sarcasm in Mingyu’s voice. Seungcheol swatted at Mingyu’s head but Mingyu ducked out of the way, laughing. 

Seungcheol set his fork down on his plate and sat back against his hands. “So, what do you think?”

Mingyu sighed. “For you? I’ll look after him as much as I can. But we don’t go to the same school, so I can only be there for him so much.”

“I’ll take care of that,” Seungcheol responded matter-of-factly.

“Oh, really?” Mingyu was equally amused and skeptical. 

“You don’t believe in me?”

Mingyu shrugged.

“I’ve got connections there. It’s my alma mater! You just make sure that he’s got somebody to call on if he’s in a tough situation, okay?”

Mingyu nodded. “I can do that.”


	2. What Have They Done to You?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> HOSHI STILL HASN’T ARRIVED WHOOPS, but more protective big brother Seungcheol and GYUHAO FINALLY INTERACTS HALLELU.

Seungcheol looked at the analog clock hanging on the wall over the bulletin board. It was 6:05pm. All of his usual students had already arrived and begun to stretch before class, but Minghao still hadn’t shown up. 

Mingyu jogged over to Seungcheol, now changed into a work-out shirt and the bottoms of his gi. “Hyung, is he coming?”

Seungcheol folded his arms across his chest. “I have no idea. But the kid basically begged me to let him into this class.”

“Maybe the rain is holding him up?” Mingyu suggested.

Seungcheol ran his hand anxiously through his hair. “I hope that’s it.”

It was just then that the door to to dojo creaked open, letting in the sound of the heavy rainfall. Seungcheol and Mingyu whipped their heads around simultaneously to see a boy dressed in sweats tiptoe into the room. His clothes were completely soaked through, and Seungcheol sighed deeply as he caught a glimpse of Minghao’s face.

Mingyu stared for a moment. A deep, red and purple bruise streaked across Minghao’s face, along with a few cuts and scrapes, as if he’d been hit with something rough. “That’s him,” Mingyu murmured, still staring. He wasn’t quite sure what he was feeling in his chest.

Seungcheol nodded. “Yup,” he replied, clearly seething. 

Minghao made eye contact with Seungcheol and bowed quickly. Seungcheol bowed back and beckoned Minghao over. Minghao trotted over shyly and bowed to Mingyu. 

“Minghao, this is Kim Mingyu. He’s in this class too, and I think you guys are the same age. I figured I’d introduce you.”

Mingyu greeted Minghao and Minghao greeted back. Mingyu tried to pretend he didn’t notice Minghao’s bruise, but he couldn’t help but feel distraught. He was sure it showed on his face.

After the quick introduction, Seungcheol clapped his hands together. “All right, kids! Time to start class! Let’s go!”

 

Minghao had become conditioned to treading lightly, and now, for the first time, he was expected to fight back. Of course, that was why he was here, but he still couldn’t shake the anxiety that tingled in his chest. Minghao was acutely aware of the way his face looked, bruised and battered, and he hated the way it made him seem. Soaked down to the bone like a wet cat, face still a little swollen and an ungodly shade of reddish purple, he knew he looked pitiful. He even pitied himself. He hated himself for that. 

“Hey, Minghao! Let’s partner up!” Mingyu said, jogging up to Minghao. “By the way, if you need to borrow a gi, I’ve got a spare.” Mingyu smiled and patted Minghao firmly on the back, causing Minghao to wince a little. Minghao prayed that Mingyu wouldn’t notice. 

Mingyu noticed. He balled up his fist awkwardly and lowered it to his side, pretending he didn’t see Minghao flinch. “Here, let’s go to the mat and I can help you catch up some, yeah?”

“Right, yeah.” Minghao felt as though he had to constantly shake himself in order to have a normal interaction with Mingyu. He could sense that Mingyu had a motive, and Minghao guessed that Seungcheol had something to do with it. Perhaps Seungcheol pitied him as well. 

Regardless of that, Minghao was somehow still grateful.

Mingyu and Minghao worked through some basic moves and stances. Mingyu went through a few warmups and Minghao mimicked them. When Seungcheol would lead the group in a set of moves, Mingyu would whisper to Minghao to “move his foot a little to the left” or to “raise his hands a little more.” Even though Minghao felt as though he was fumbling through every step, having someone there to look out for him gave him some confidence. 

Minghao exerted every ounce of energy he could find within himself. He tripped and stumbled and was kicked around by students half his age but twice his body mass, but he continued. He didn’t think about the pain. He was used to tuning out the pain. He could do it again. 

“Okay, kids, that’s it for today!” Seungcheol announced in his charismatic teacher voice. He bowed to the class and they bowed back. Minghao bowed deeply, feeling every muscle in his body throb and every bruise on his back ache. He grimaced in pain as he hoisted himself back up, having to push himself off his knees.

Mingyu appeared to Minghao’s left holding a bottle of water. “Here, you did well today,” he said, handing the water bottle to Minghao. Minghao straightened himself up and took the bottled water with a quiet “thank you.” He exhaustedly twisted the cap off the bottle, suddenly aware of how thirsty he was. 

“Minghao!” Seungcheol called. Minghao glanced over at Seungcheol mid-sip and quickly lowered the water bottle. Seungcheol trotted over to them, a small white towel draped around the back of his neck. “Minghao, I wanted to talk to you before you head out.”

Mingyu glanced at Minghao, who swallowed nervously at Seungcheol. “Sure. What is it?” Minghao asked.

Seungcheol gestured to the side of the room with his head, indicating that he wanted to talk to Minghao in private.

Minghao looked at Mingyu, who nodded. “I’ll go grab the rest of that casserole,” Mingyu said, taking the hint.

As Mingyu walked away, Seungcheol called after him to save him some of that casserole for his roommate, Hoshi. Once he was out of sight, Seungcheol pulled Minghao aside. Minghao’s heart raced and he felt as though he might be sick. He knew that Seungcheol was going to ask about his face. He’d been dreading it since he walked in the door. 

“Minghao, who did this to you?” Seungcheol asked quietly. He meant for his voice to come off as gentler than it did, but Seungcheol couldn’t shake off the concern. “Who does this to you?”

Minghao didn’t look Seungcheol in the eye. “It’s not that big of a deal.”

“The hell it isn’t,” Seungcheol replied, feeling something burning up inside him. 

Minghao tried to steady his breathing, but he knew he was on the verge of crying, which made him angry at himself. “It’s just some guys that graduated last year.”

“They’re still hanging around?” Seungcheol asked.

“I guess they’ve all gotten together to… I don’t really know… They just sort of like to scare people, you know? I guess to…” Minghao trailed off. “They just like to cause trouble, I guess.”

“How long has this gang of guys been bothering you?” Seungcheol asked, making an attempt to soften his voice. 

“Since I moved to Korea, I guess… A couple of years now?” Minghao took a deep, steadying breath. “But in the past couple weeks they’ve… It’s gotten worse.” Minghao unconsciously touched the spot where he’d been cut along his torso. 

Seungcheol tried to displace his anger by gritting his teeth. “How much worse?” he asked.

Minghao’s eyes remained glued to his feet. He couldn’t find it in himself to say it out loud. 

“Minghao, how much worse has it gotten?” Seungcheol repeated with a little more agency. “What are they threatening to do to you?”

Before Minghao could do anything about it, his eyes were welling up with tears. He wasn’t sure if they were tears of frustration or of fear or of release, but he knew if he tried to talk he wouldn’t be able to get a word out before breaking down.

“Minghao…” Seungcheol’s voice suddenly softened, as if he were speaking to a lost child. “When you said you were just trying to survive – until you could leave, I mean – how literally did you mean that?”

The question broke Minghao. The concern, being spoken to with kindness, someone being able to see it – it was all too much for him. Minghao found himself sinking to the ground as he descended into quiet weeping. Seungcheol had his answer.

 

Mingyu had heard everything. Somewhere along the way, he sat down against the wall just inside the kitchen door and listened to Seungcheol and Minghao talk. Mingyu leaned his head against the wall of the kitchen, his arms crossed in front of him. As he listened to Minghao break down into tears, Mingyu felt his chest tighten with a dull, deep-seated pain. His heart broke for Minghao, and he could feel it. Mingyu quickly rubbed the tears out of his own eyes and took a deep breath. He hadn’t expected to care so much.

Seungcheol took a few minutes to calm Minghao down, not asking him any more questions. He just sat with him with a hand on his back to show Minghao that he was still there. Minghao sobbed quietly, his face buried in his knees.

Mingyu knew that he had to go out there eventually, so he figured sooner rather than later. Quietly, he pushed open the swinging door that led out of the kitchen, and looked around the corner to see Minghao and Seungcheol. Seungcheol looked up at Mingyu and they held each other’s gaze for a moment, silently sharing a split-second sentiment with their expressions. Mingyu’s eyes were heavy and filled with sadness. Seungcheol, to Mingyu’s surprise, almost seemed to give him a look that admitted something he would rarely ever say: I don’t know what to do. Mingyu tiptoed over to Seungcheol and Minghao, squatting down next to them and placing a hand on Minghao’s shoulder. 

“Minghao?” Mingyu said gently.

Minghao raised his head a little to try stop crying, but he didn’t meet Mingyu’s eyes. However, he recognized Mingyu’s voice and was a little self-conscious that he didn’t notice Mingyu was there. 

“Let’s get you home, yeah?” Mingyu suggested, the corner of his mouth curving upward in a soft smile. 

Minghao nodded and began to push himself up off of the ground, still not making eye contact with either Mingyu or Seungcheol. He’d quieted himself down, and now where there was once an uneasiness in his arms and his legs and his chest, there was only numbness. It had been a long time since he’d cried like that. He wondered how many weeks, months, even years worth of emotions were in those tears. 

Mingyu grabbed his gym bag and placed an arm around Minghao’s shoulders and gave Seungcheol a quick look as if to say, I can take it from here. Seungcheol was caught off guard but nodded at Mingyu. He was impressed that Mingyu was taking all of this as seriously as he was. Seungcheol was grateful.

Mingyu led Minghao out of the dojo, saying something in passing every once in a while to make sure Minghao was okay. “Class can be hard, but you’ll get the hang of it.” “Seungcheol is a good teacher, but he’s also just a good friend.” “Oh look, the rain stopped.” Minghao nodded each time, sometimes piping up with a “Yeah” or an “Oh, you’re right.” When they stepped outside, all that was left of the rain was the dense, stormy air and a few puddles here and there. It was nearly 8:00 pm, and the clouds had broken up to reveal a waning moon glowing at the very top of the sky. 

Mingyu and Minghao reached the end of the block, and Minghao glanced up at Mingyu. “You don’t have to walk with me,” he said quietly.

Mingyu shrugged. “It’s fine. The night’s young. I don’t have anywhere to be.” Mingyu’s immediate response was to be nonchalant, but in truth, he really was afraid to let Minghao walk back alone like this. 

Minghao nodded slowly and kept walking. Even though he felt a bit awkward, Minghao was relieved that Mingyu didn’t go anywhere. Having someone next to him made him feel safe. For once, he felt protected. Somewhere deep inside himself, Minghao was thankful to have Kim Mingyu by his side in that moment.


	3. Nagomi Noodles

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> This one’s a little bit longer than the others, and I’m starting to think that I’m actually going to be shooting for 8 or 9 chapters… Surprise! Also another surprise, Joshua appears in this chapter! I didn’t even know he was going to be in this story, but things happen so, there you go! (Also, it’s gonna get exciting soon, I swear.)

“Where are you from, Minghao?” Mingyu pondered, his hands resting on the backs of his shoulders as he walked. His strides were so long and so purposeful that Minghao noticed himself having to walk a little faster than he usually does.

“I’m from Haicheng in China.” 

“Wasn’t there an earthquake there?”

Minghao nodded. “There was in the 70s. It’s kind of the thing that everybody knows it for. That’s fine, though.” Minghao trailed off. He felt like he was rambling.

“So why’d you come to Seoul?” Mingyu asked.

“My cousin lives and works here in Korea. I wanted to come to a college prep school in Seoul because I’d always heard that there are a lot of high schools here that will get you into American colleges. I’d really like to go to an Ivy League school.” Minghao felt like he couldn’t filter out his words properly. He felt too comfortable. It was strange to him. “My cousin isn’t around much because he is on business so much, so most of the time I’m alone. It makes studying really easy.”

“Do you like being on your own?”

The question seemed to have a curious subtext lying beneath it. Minghao could hear the concerned twinge in Mingyu’s voice, and he’d heard it before. The school counselor would ask Minghao questions that danced around the real reason he was sent to the counselor in the first place. It was one of those investigative questions that would undoubtable segue into some deep, emotional confession. Or at least, that’s what people always wanted out of Minghao when they asked him these kinds of questions.

“I don’t mean to pry,” Mingyu continued awkwardly. “It just sounds kind of lonely. Being in a house by yourself all of the time.”

“It’s okay. I like to be alone,” Minghao replied. “It’s just more comfortable.”

“What’s uncomfortable about being with somebody?” Mingyu asked, genuinely curious to pick at Minghao’s mind. 

Minghao wrapped his arms around himself as he walked along. “Well, being alone is really safe, I guess. It’s harder to be hurt by somebody or something if you’re alone.”

Mingyu was quiet for a moment. Minghao didn’t know if it was just him or not, but he swore that he could almost hear the sound of Mingyu processing. Even so, there was no tension between them, only inquiry. Minghao felt very comfortable letting Mingyu think quietly to himself. 

“Well, it’s okay to like to be alone. Seungcheol can be like that sometimes, and I get it.” Mingyu sighed deeply. “But I do want to present an idea to you. You don’t have to do anything with it, but I still want to mention it.”

Minghao was about 174% certain he didn’t sign up for this guy’s amateur philosophy, but he was curious. “What is it?”

“Kind people will go out of their way to make sure they haven’t hurt you. Good people may even find a way to heal the ones who have. Hurt you, I mean. So, find some good, kind people, and then come back to me again with your outlook on aloneness.”

Minghao wasn’t sure why, but Mingyu’s words made him shift a bit. He felt it in his chest and in his stomach. This big lug spoke straight to Minghao’s heart, and Minghao certainly did not want to be convicted today. But there he was, wondering when he left his faith in people at the door. All because of this tall guy wearing puffy pants.

“Thanks, Mingyu,” Minghao replied. “I’ll keep a lookout for those people.”

“If they’re really good, they’re keeping a lookout for you too.” Mingyu smiled wide – the encouraging gesture that he knew best. 

Before he knew it, Minghao was smiling back. The clouds had finally scattered, and moon twinkled against a starless sky.

 

The walk to Minghao’s cousin’s house from Seungcheol’s place wasn’t very long, and the area was typically very quiet. For anybody else, the walk home would’ve been a peaceful one to take alone. Minghao has never thought that. To him, these streets were a series of shark tanks that weaved through the suburbs. 

“That’s my house over there,” Minghao said, pointing up the road at a normal-looking house on an incline with all of the lights off. 

“Your cousin isn’t here?” Mingyu asked. 

Minghao looked up the driveway. There was no car. “Must not be.”

“Are you going to be okay by yourself?” Mingyu asked.

“Mingyu, I just told you my cousin goes away all of the time. I’ve done this plenty of times before.” Minghao wasn’t sure why Mingyu was so concerned about this. 

“Well, I mean, you just seemed… upset back there. I just, I don’t know. It doesn’t seem right to just let you be by yourself right now.” Mingyu stumbled over his words a little. 

Minghao sensed that he wasn’t very good at articulating his feelings. Me too, man, Minghao thought.

“Look, it’s only like, 8:15,” Mingyu added.

“That’s my bedtime,” Minghao replied with a mocking twinge in his voice.

“Ooh, that was sassy. I didn’t think you had it in you,” Mingyu said with laughter in his voice. 

Minghao rolled his eyes. Mingyu laughed more.

 

Minghao finally let Mingyu come in after much bickering. They made popcorn and put on Netflix. Mingyu wanted to watch American Horror Story, but Minghao insisted on Wheel of Fortune. Minghao was appalled at the fact that Mingyu put chocolate syrup on his popcorn. Mingyu was mortified that Minghao had eaten cereal for dinner. 

“That won’t do,” he said, as he pulled a vegetable out of the fridge. It was that weird vegetable his cousin bought at a farmer’s market that nobody really knew anything about and, frankly, made Minghao highly suspicious. The next thing Minghao knew, Mingyu was putting chopped mystery-veggie in a pan with some spices he’d procured after ransacking Minghao’s cousin’s kitchen. Mingyu called it “a snack with substance,” and Minghao wasn’t sure about it until he finally tried it, and next thing he knew, he was watching Wheel of Fortune with the bowl of seasoned, unnamed veggie chips in his lap. Mingyu sat back proudly, both feet on the coffee table. Until Minghao kicked them off. 

 

Mingyu was late for school the next day because he’d fallen asleep on Minghao’s couch. Minghao did too, somehow. Minghao woke up first, groggy and confused. Upon seeing the sun shining through the windows, Minghao smacked Mingyu awake. They both scrambled and said their goodbyes as they ran out of the house, neither one sure how they both ended up falling asleep sprawled across the couch. There is no way that could’ve been comfortable. 

They both ran out of the house, Mingyu with his taekwondo bag in hand and Minghao with his backpack hanging over his shoulder. As they both ran opposite directions, Mingyu towards the subway and Minghao towards his school, Mingyu turned back on his heel and called: 

“Minghao!”

Minghao spun around impatiently. “What is it?!”

“Look out for yourself!” Mingyu replied.

Minghao hesitated, caught off guard by Mingyu’s concern. “I will!”

“Let’s get food at that noodle place in Mapo after school, okay?? Nagomi Noodles!” Mingyu called.

Minghao was anxiously inching away as he called back, “Okay, fine! But we’ve got to go!”

Mingyu nodded and turned to run towards the subway. Minghao yelled out a “See you later” and Mingyu responded back with a wave of his hand. Minghao straightened his uniform blazer and ran to make it to class.

 

Once classes were over, Minghao gathered up his things and headed to the bus stop. Despite his shyness, Minghao really did like school. His teachers were kind to him and students didn’t pay too much attention to him. After his the previous two years of high school, that was a blessing. Although there were still some people who would give him a hard time between classes, they were all talk. Minghao wasn’t afraid of them. No, not them. There were much worse people to worry about than them.

 

Mapo was a fifteen or twenty minute bus ride from Minghao’s school. He was able to just put in his earbuds and stare out the window for a while, which he enjoyed. When he felt the bus screech softly to a halt, he knew he’d arrived. He hopped off the bus with his backpack slung over his shoulder and headed to Nagomi Noodles. 

Minghao walked in and looked around to see if Mingyu had beaten him to the restaurant. 

“Hi, welcome to Nagomi Noodles.” Before Minghao even noticed, he was approached quietly by a skinny guy in a button up with menus in his hands. “Are you Minghao?”

Minghao nodded with wide eyes. 

“Hi, I’m Hong Jisoo. I live next door to your friend Seungcheol. Mingyu’s out back and told me to look out for you if you came in.” Joshua’s voice was gentle and a little bit timid, but seeping with friendliness. Minghao could tell that this kid didn’t have an assertive bone in his body. He reminded Minghao a little bit of himself.

“Here, I’ll show you where the back patio is. I work here, so if you need anything, let me know, okay?” 

Minghao replied with a quiet “Okay, thank you,” and Joshua guided him out the glass side door onto a wide back patio surrounded by potted plants with string lights hanging overhead. Minghao guessed that it’d be a really pretty place to be on a summer night. 

“Minghao, over here!”

Minghao looked over to see Mingyu waving him down from the opposite side of the patio. Minghao bowed briefly in thanks to Joshua and then walked over to Mingyu, who was now wearing his own school uniform. It was blue and gray and looked like it probably hadn’t been ironed. 

“How did you manage to get home and change into your uniform?” Minghao asked Mingyu as he sat down across from him. 

Mingyu laughed. “This is just the extra blazer I had stuffed in my locker at school. I still got dress coded for wearing jeans and a tee shirt under it though, so I guess there wasn't really a point to wearing the blazer, huh?” The laughter in his voice was infectious, and Minghao smiled a little. 

“How do you know the guy who works here?” Minghao asked. 

“Joshua? Sorry, Jisoo. He’s not from here, so I never know which name he uses to introduce himself. Anyway, he graduated from my high school a couple of years ago. He’s the one who introduced me to Seungcheol and Hoshi. I became friends with him my freshman year because, since I was taller than the other kids, I would scare off the guys who’d give him a hard time after class. He had trouble speaking up for himself.”

Sounds familiar. “Wow, you’re a regular superman.” Minghao teased. 

Mingyu threw the wrapping paper from his straw at Minghao’s head. Minghao dodged the balled up strip of paper and blew his own straw paper at Mingyu’s face. Mingyu laughed. “Oh, by the way, let me have your number. I wanted to call you to make sure you got here okay, but I realized your number wasn’t in my phone.”

Minghao furrowed his eyebrows. “You were going to call and check on me?”

Mingyu shrugged. “You make it sound so patronizing. I guess I just worry too much, huh?”

Minghao shrugged back at Mingyu. “Maybe not. Here, let me put my number in your phone.”

As Minghao typed Mingyu’s number into his phone, Mingyu spoke up, breaking the silence. “Hey, Minghao?”

Minghao didn’t look up. “Yeah?”

“I know it really isn’t my business, but yesterday – just before class – who left that bruise on your face, man?”

Minghao hesitated, but still didn’t look up. “Just some kids that graduated from my school. It’s fine.” Minghao handed over Mingyu’s phone. “There you go. My number’s in there under ‘Seo Myungho’ because I can’t write my Chinese name in Korean characters.” 

Mingyu took his phone back and looked at Minghao with concerned eyes. Minghao met his gaze and shrugged his shoulders.

“It really isn’t a big deal,” Minghao said. “I can handle it.”

“Can you?” Mingyu asked. 

Minghao hesitated. He wanted to scold Mingyu for being nosy, but at the same time, Minghao wanted to tell Mingyu everything that was going on. He wasn’t sure why he trusted Mingyu so much, but he knew that he could.

“Why do they want to hurt you?” Mingyu continued.

“Look, they’re just bad guys. That’s what bullies do – they pick fights. They’ve done this since I moved to Korea. It’s not a big deal.” 

“I heard you and Seungcheol talking about it last night,” Mingyu admitted, getting the words out quickly. “I’m sorry I didn’t tell you sooner, but I know that it is a big deal.”

Minghao was quiet for a moment. Anxiety started to simmer in his chest and he found himself shifting uncomfortably in his seat. “How much did you hear?” he asked. 

“Enough to know that these guys aren’t just knocking you around for fun,” Mingyu answered. “What changed to make things so much worse after they left high school?”

Minghao began to feel sick to his stomach. He didn’t like talking about all of this. Not here, not now. And Mingyu could see it on his face. He backed off quickly. 

“Um, hey, actually, let’s not talk about this right now, okay?” Mingyu suggested, saying what he could sense Minghao wanted to say but was too shy to admit. “Let’s talk about something else.”

Minghao nodded. “Yeah, let’s do that.” 

Mingyu waved Jisoo down and ordered noodles for both Minghao and himself. Minghao protested at first, saying that he didn’t want to have to own Mingyu any money, but Mingyu told Minghao that he didn’t owe him anything. Minghao was caught off guard, but thanked Mingyu anyways. 

“You know,” Mingyu started as he picked up some noodles with a pair of metal chopsticks, “we have some bad guys at our school, too.”

Minghao did the same, examining the noodles as he gathered them up in between his chopsticks. “Yeah? Like who?”

“Well, you remember what I said about Jisoo having a hard time while we were in high school? Well, it was mainly just this one kid that orchestrated it all. It was a really strange situation, but he and Jisoo came to high school as close as two people can be, but Jisoo told me that their sophomore year something changed, and this friend of his became his worst enemy.” 

Minghao listened intently to Mingyu’s story. “How come?”

“Jisoo could never figure it out. One moment he had a best friend, the next moment his ‘best friend’ and three other guys were beating him up behind the school every day.”

“That’s awful,” Minghao murmured. 

“I know. Jisoo didn’t deserve any of it, either,” Mingyu continued, swallowing a mouthful of noodles. “And that’s what I couldn’t stand about all of it. Fighting with somebody about something is one thing, but hurting somebody just for the sake of feeling strong? Or, I guess, whatever else would make you do that to a person. It’s just sick,” Mingyu said, his face twisting into a grimace.

“So is that why you helped him?” Minghao asked.

“Everybody needs somebody who is willing to fight for them,” Mingyu replied. “Seungcheol has taught me a lot about that since I met him. Seungcheol’s a really good guy, so remember that you can always let him know if something’s going on, okay?”

Minghao nodded. “Okay.” 

Mingyu smiled. “Good. Hey, what do you say we pay him and Hoshi a visit? I bet they’re at home right now. We can get these noodles to go.”

“Wait,” Minghao took a moment to process, “just like, drop in on Seungcheol and Soony- sorry, Hoshi? Where did that come from?”

Mingyu shrugged. “I don’t really know. I just figured that it’d be fun and you'd like Hoshi if you’d hang out with him.” Mingyu continued with laughter in his voice, “He’s kind of weird, but he’s hard not to love.” Minghao recognized Hoshi from high school, but the only thing he really knew about Hoshi was that he didn’t like it when people called him “Soonyoung,” so he spent his entire high school career trying to get “Hoshi” to stick, even up until he dropped out during his junior year. This confused Minghao, who had enough trouble remembering Korean names. 

Minghao laughed a little, partly out of disbelief. “I mean, sure then. Lead the way, Superman.”

“Superman,” Mingyu lingered on the word for a moment, “I like that. Let’s make that stick, okay?”

Minghao leaned over and swatted Mingyu on the head. “Don’t get cocky.”

“Ah, so the true colors of Xu Minghao are coming out!” Mingyu said, fixing his hair. 

Minghao couldn’t help but smile wide. “Shut up, Kim Mingyu.”

“Ah,” Mingyu held up a finger, “you mean ‘Superman.’”

Minghao twisted around in his chair, pretending he didn’t hear Mingyu. “Check please!” he called out.


	4. Don't You Dare Let Go

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Finally, a Hoshi appears! This chapter is important because we’re seeing some character development in little Minghao, which adds to future events within the story! It’s pretty sweet, I think. Some cute Gyuhao dynamics. fun stuff. Friendshipppppp. Maybe… Could this be the calm before the storm? You’ll have to wait and see… Enjoy!

It didn’t take long to get to Seungcheol and Hoshi’s house by subway. The route they took to get there looked familiar most of the way through – this was the way that Minghao came when he came to the dojo. The route was almost identical – wait, hang on – it was exactly identical. 

“Seungcheol lives literally right across the street from his own dojo?” Minghao asked.

“The two lots are owned by the same guy, I think,” Mingyu answered. “Hoshi wanted a dance studio, Seungcheol wanted a dojo, so they got together to afford rent and now they share the space.”

Minghao shook his head and looked at Mingyu in astonishment. “Wait, wait, wait, wait… Hoshi has a dance studio?” It’s like I didn’t even know these guys at all, Minghao thought.

Mingyu laughed. “You know what, I’ll let them explain,” Mingyu decided, walking up towards the front door to the house and reaching into the bushes that stood on either side of the entrance. “They’ve usually got a spare key in here…”

Bonk.

A young guy, who Minghao recognized as Hoshi, opened the front door abruptly, whacking Mingyu over the head. Minghao doubled over in laughter as Mingyu toppled backward onto his ass.

Hoshi looked around in an attempt to figure out what he hit. “Oh, geez! Mingyu, I’m so sorry, man!” Hoshi said, realizing he’d hit Mingyu with the door. Minghao couldn’t control his laughter and was now crouched on the walkway, holding his sides. 

“Hoshi, why?” Mingyu groaned as he laid on the walkway with both hands on his head. “You gotta open doors slower, bro.”

Hoshi rushed over to yank Mingyu up with both hands. Once Mingyu got to his feet, Hoshi reached up and swept the dust off of his shoulders, chuckling awkwardly. “You gotta watch where you put your head, little brother!” he replied.

Minghao had finally reined in his laughter and was now trying to catch his breath, one hand hovering over his right side. He’d laughed so hard that the semi-healed gash down his torso that had begun to throb. Minghao hoisted himself up and took a deep breath in an effort to collect himself. 

Hoshi craned around Mingyu to see Minghao standing close behind. “Hey, I know you! You went to my school, right?”

Minghao nodded and bowed slightly with his hands folded in front of himself. Mingyu could tell that Mingyu was reverting back into the shy, timid version of himself, so he chimed in and introduced Minghao. Minghao was grateful.

“Oh, that’s right, I remember now!” Hoshi said. “Well here, come on in, guys. Seungcheol and I were trying to do some home improvement, as the kids say, but we’ve hit a roadblock so your timing is perfect.”

Mingyu and Minghao stepped inside after Hoshi. As he closed the door behind them, Mingyu asked, “What sorts of renovations are you guys– WHOA WHOA, HYUNG, GET DOWN FROM THERE!” 

Standing in the living area, balancing on a dining chair, a stack of books, a remote control holder, three pillows, and a microwave, was Seungcheol, stretching with all his might to reach up towards the light fixture. Seungcheol looked over at Mingyu and the stack of various random objects wobbled beneath him. 

Minghao gaped as Seungcheol lost his balance and tumbled onto the living room floor. The three of them ran to Seungcheol, who sat up on the living room floor and sighed deeply. “I was so close…”

Minghao helped Seunghcheol up off the ground and looked up at the ceiling. The ceiling was high in the living area as it sloped up towards what seemed to be attic space. He realized that the light in the fixture was blinking. “Hyung,” Minghao asked, “don’t you have a ladder?”

“We lent our ladder out to our landlord last weekend, but he hasn’t returned it to us yet,” Hoshi answered. 

Mingyu examined the blinking light on the ceiling. “Some landlord you guys have…”

“Mingyu, if you stand on the chair and the books and things, you can reach it, right?” Seungcheol asked.

“I’m not pulling a stunt like that!” Mingyu replied. “You almost broke your neck trying that!”

“Wait,” Minghao chimed in, “I’ve got an idea. Somebody put me on their shoulders.”

Mingyu, Seungcheol, and Hoshi all simultaneously turned their heads to look at Minghao. Seungcheol and Mingyu looked at Minghao incredulously while Hoshi laughed and clapped his hands together. 

“I like the way he thinks!” Hoshi declared. 

“I’m really light. It would be easy,” Minghao assured them, but Mingyu and Seungcheol still didn’t look convinced. “Do you want to fix that light or not?”

Seungcheol couldn’t hide the inkling of a smile that rose up on his face. He was surprisingly pleased that Minghao had gathered up the gumption to take a tone with him. Mingyu really got this kid out of his shell, Seungcheol thought.

“Okay, but even sitting on somebody’s shoulders, you’re not going to be tall enough,” Mingyu added.

Minghao looked at Mingyu. “Just trust me. I got this.”

After a few more moments of thought, Mingyu finally relinquished his skepticism, throwing both hands in the air with resignation. “All right, fine. Let’s do this.”

Mingyu knelt down onto the ground so that Minghao could get himself onto his shoulders. Slowly but steadily, Mingyu stood to his feet with Minghao on his shoulders, gripping onto the top of Mingyu’s head for balance. 

“‘Really light’ my ass,” Mingyu commented in a strained voice, holding onto Minghao’s feet. “And I told you, you’re still not tall enough to reach the light.”

Minghao ignored him. “Okay, stand really, really still,” Minghao instructed.

Mingyu furrowed his brows. “Why? What are you doing?”

“Let go of my feet,” Minghao said, “give me your hands, and stand very still.” Minghao put extra emphasis on the last two words. 

“Minghao,” Seungcheol said in a warning tone, “you better not–”

But it was too late. Holding tightly onto Mingyu’s hands, Minghao placed one foot at a time on Mingyu’s shoulders. Shakily, Minghao straightened his knees. Mingyu vehemently protested as Minghao rose to his feet, balancing on Mingyu’s shoulders.

“Okay, now I’m going to let go of your hands,” Minghao forewarned.

“No you will not,” Mingyu replied, gripping Minghao’s hands tightly. 

“I can’t watch,” Hoshi said, turning around to look at the other wall. Seungcheol quickly found himself standing beside Mingyu as a spotter, ready to catch Minghao when all of this went horribly wrong. 

Slowly again, Minghao let go of Mingyu’s hands and reached up to grab the rim of the light fixture for balance. “Got it!”

Mingyu was sweating now. “Okay, Minghao, hurry up. I can’t do this much longer.” Mingyu had his hands wrapped around Minghao’s ankles. 

Quickly, Minghao began unscrewing the flickering light. Once he got it loose, Minghao tossed the bulb down to Seungcheol, who caught it in his hands. “Give me the new bulb!” Minghao instructed.

Seungcheol rushed to switch out the old light bulb for the new one sitting in the box on the coffee table. 

“Hurry, hurry, hurry, hurry,” Mingyu pleaded, his knees wobbling beneath him. 

Seungcheol reached up with the new bulb, and Minghao, with one hand on the light fixture, reached down and grabbed it. At this point, Hoshi had turned back around, unable to look away. 

Minghao fiddled with the bulb, rotating it into the socket. “Okay… hang on, almost got it… There!” As soon as Minghao spoke, the new bulb lit up in the light fixture and Hoshi cheered. Seungcheol laughed in disbelief with both hands on his hips. 

“Now, that's what I call teamwork,” Hoshi remarked, patting Mingyu firmly on the back unthinkingly.

Seungcheol’s eyes widened. “Hoshi, no!”

Hoshi’s smile dropped as he realized he’d patted Mingyu just hard enough to knock him off his equilibrium. Mingyu began to wobble more, and this time, Minghao began to sway with him. Minghao tried to balance himself using the light fixture, but it was too late. In a matter of moments, before either Hoshi or Seungcheol had time to make a move, Minghao and Mingyu came crashing to the ground. Mingyu went first as his legs collapsed beneath him, and Minghao followed. Both of them hit the ground with matching thuds. 

The fall knocked the air completely out of Minghao’s lungs, and he heard the loud thump as the back of his head hit the thinly carpeted floor. Seungcheol and Hoshi crouched down to make sure he and Mingyu were okay, Hoshi apologizing profusely and Seungcheol checking for concussions by asking questions. “What’s your name?” “What year is it?” “What city do we live in?”

Mingyu rolled over onto his side to face Minghao. “Minghao, are you okay?”

Minghao rubbed the back of his head with his hand and looked over at Mingyu. “Minghao? Who’s Minghao?” Mingyu looked at Minghao with a look of alarm, and Minghao laughed. “I’m kidding,” Minghao reassured with a smug look on his face. “I told you I could do change the light.”

Mingyu sighed a breath of relief, which turned into laughter. “You’re an idiot,” Mingyu said, picking himself up off of the floor.

Hoshi knelt down beside Minghao’s head. “Minghao, I know this isn’t really the time,” Hoshi started, “but have you ever considered taking an acrobatic dance class?”

Minghao turned his head to give Hoshi a look. Hoshi shrugged his shoulders as if to say, “Just a thought.” Minghao rested his head backward on the ground and laughed to himself. 

 

Minghao, Mingyu, Seungcheol, and Hoshi spent the afternoon talking, drinking coffee, helping Seungcheol tape walls in preparation for painting, and watching the dance that Hoshi was in the process of choreographing. Minghao was impressed and threatened to ditch Seungcheol’s taekwondo class for Hoshi’s dance class. “Don’t you dare,” Seungcheol responded jokingly, putting Minghao in a headlock until he tapped out.

“Hey, speaking of the dojo, Hoshi, we’ve really got to clean that room tonight.”

Hoshi sighed. “I really wish you’d start calling it the studio,” he whined. “It’s more inclusive of the dance expertise that goes on in there as well!”

Seungcheol patted Hoshi on the shoulder. “I’m sorry, buddy. Here, I’ll get you a sign made for your studio, okay? ‘Soonyoung’s Dance Studio.’ Would that help!”

Hoshi playfully shoved Seungcheol to the side. “Hoshi’s Dance Studio! Hoshi’s! Not Soonyoung’s!”

Seungcheol laughed at Hoshi and threw an arm around his shoulders. “Oh, right, sorry. Hoshi.”

Minghao smiled at Seungcheol and Hoshi’s banter. “They’re like a cat and a dog,” he whispered to Mingyu, who was also entertained watching the two bicker. Both of them sat lounging on Seungcheol’s couch, which felt like it was sinking beneath them. 

“I know, it’s great,” Mingyu whispered back. “I’ve never seen them get genuinely mad at each other, though. I’m amazed.”

“Hey,” Seungcheol asked, “would you guys mind helping us move a couple things from the dojo– er, studio – down to the first floor room?” 

Mingyu and Minghao looked at each other and flashed indifferent expressions to one another, silently agreeing that neither of them minded.

“Sure, no problem,” Mingyu replied. “We’d better get paid though.”

Seungcheol smiled. “How about I don’t hide my spare house key so you can’t find it again?”

“You wouldn’t!” Mingyu exclaimed dramatically. 

“Maybe you wouldn’t get a concussion that way!” Hoshi replied. 

“Fine, fine, fine,” Mingyu said, waving his hand. 

Seungcheol smirked and ruffled Mingyu’s hair. Hoshi laughed at Mingyu’s discontent and Minghao laughed as Mingyu pouted. Man, I’ve got some strange friends, Minghao thought to himself.

 

And, yet, Minghao truly couldn’t have been happier.


	5. He's Gone

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “Minghao had never really seen Mingyu angry at all, and it did scare him…It should’ve been terrifying. Mingyu was terrifying.”
> 
> Okay guys… I’m here to warn you, this chapter gets fairly intense… Minghao finally gets to test his new-found courage. Mingyu has to become Ming-Superman once again when things get dicey. We finally get to see who’s been terrorizing our hero…

By the time Minghao and Mingyu were done helping Hoshi and Seungcheol clean out the dojo, it was already 9 or 10 pm. As Mingyu, Seungcheol, and Hoshi chatted inside over drinks, Minghao found himself out on the veranda, looking out over the little neighborhood, following the roads with his eyes and soaking in the quiet, nighttime sounds. 

He closed his eyes and thought about the day he’d had with the three of them. For the first time in a long time, Minghao seemed to feel no nervousness, no self-consciousness, no fear. Minghao had a hard time trying to articulate what he was feeling, even just to himself, but it was something good. He knew it was something very good. 

And for Minghao, Mingyu, Hoshi, and Seungcheol were better than good. They were family, as far as he was concerned. Minghao breathed in the crisp air and let himself linger in this moment of feeling like – knowing – he belonged. 

“Help, somebody help me! Please!” 

Minghao’s eyes flew open and he scanned the perimeter of the area. What was that? His ears perked at the distant sound of somebody yelling out in the night. Minghao’s heart began to race as he made his way down the stairs and into the little gravel lot surrounding the dojo. 

“Somebody please, help me!”

Minghao whipped his head around in the direction of the screams. They were faint, but Minghao knew he could get there if he ran. Minghao bounded off, trying his best to follow the sound. 

 

“Right, well I guess we’ll head out then,” Mingyu said, drying the glass he’d just washed and placing it back on the shelf in the kitchen. 

“So soon?” Hoshi said, drying his own glass. 

Seungcheol fitted his coat over his broad shoulders. “What, you’re going to leave us behind to stack up all of these mats?”

Mingyu wrapped his arm around Seungcheol in a playful headlock. “I think you and Hoshi can handle three mats, Cheol,” Mingyu replied.

Hoshi stood on his tiptoes to put away the glass in the cupboard. “Speak for yourself! I am fragile and will be doing no lifting!”

Seungcheol laughed and pried off Mingyu’s hands, swatting at his head in retaliation. “Fine, I’ll do it. Grab Minghao and tell him that we’re locking up.”

Mingyu nodded and headed out front to tell Minghao that it was time to leave. He opened the door and looked around the veranda for Minghao, but there was no sign of him. With furrowed brows, Mingyu peeked back inside and asked, “Hey, hyung? Did Minghao come back in here after he went out onto the veranda?”

Seungcheol looked up from stacking one of the mats on top of another. “I didn’t see him come in.” He let the heavy mat drop and cleared his throat before calling out Minghao’s name. Seungcheol’s voice echoed through the nearly empty dojo, but there was no answer.

“I’ll go check the back rooms,” Hoshi offered, striding away further into the dojo where only he and Seungcheol ever ventured. 

Mingyu looked back out onto the gravel lot. “Minghao?” he called. “Are you out there?”

Seungcheol stepped onto the veranda. “Is he not out here?”

Mingyu kept scanning the lot, panic rising up in his chest. “No,” Mingyu murmured, shaking his head, “he’s gone.” 

Mingyu’s tone alarmed Seungcheol. Mingyu looked back at him with worried eyes, and Seungcheol looked out onto the neighborhood. Cupping his hands around his mouth, he yelled Minghao’s name loudly into the night, but again to no response. 

Moments later, they were met by Hoshi who’d come out onto the veranda after hearing them yelling. “He’s gone?” Hoshi asked, not sure if he’d heard right.

“Well, he’s definitely not here,” Seungcheol replied, leaning over the railing of the veranda to check below. 

“Did he go back to the house?”

“The house is locked,” Seungcheol said, reaching inside the door and grabbing his coat off the hook on the wall.

Mingyu started down the stairs, looking around in every direction. “Minghao!” he yelled, unafraid of waking up the entire neighborhood. “Minghao!”

Seungcheol followed closely behind. “Mingyu, you go towards town, I’ll go up the block. We’ll find him.”

Mingyu barely let Seungcheol finish before he dashed into the night. 

Seungcheol craned his neck up to call up to his roommate. “Hoshi, stay here in case Minghao comes back. And when you go back inside, lock the door behind you.”

Mingyu wasn’t completely sure why, but he felt a cold heaviness in his chest, as if he already knew that something had gone horribly wrong. It was the suspicious, uneasy feeling of things being too good for too long. Mingyu was afraid that the calm had ended and the storm was upon them.

 

The cries sounded close now, and Minghao knew he’d almost found the source of the sound. He sprinted down the street and rounded a corner. Sitting against a brick wall between two buildings was a kid, not much younger than himself, cradling his arm as if it were hurt. Minghao ran over to the boy and placed one hand on each of his shoulders. “Are you okay?” he asked.

The boy looked at Minghao with wide, terror-stricken eyes. “They took my wallet, and I think they broke my arm. Please, please help me.”

“Are they still here?” Minghao asked quickly.

The boy shook his head. “No, they ran off. Can you please help me get to the hospital?” the kid said, gritting his teeth in pain. 

“Sure, sure,” Minghao said, helping the boy to his feet. Minghao took off his jacket and began to gently loop it around the boy in an attempt to try and create a makeshift sling. “What’s your name?” he asked as he tied a knot with the sleeves. 

The boy’s voice shook violently. “Hansol,” he replied. 

Minghao smiled at the boy, imagining that’s what Mingyu would do if he were there. “Nice name,” he said. Oh no, Mingyu. He and Seungcheol don’t know where I am, Minghao realized. 

“What’s yours?” Hansol asked. 

“Minghao,” he said. “I’m Minghao.” 

Hansol smiled weakly. “Oh, good,” Hansol replied.

Minghao chuckled awkwardly and slung Hansol’s other arm around his shoulders. “Good? Why’s that good?”

“Well, you’re just the guy I’ve been looking for, Minghao.” Suddenly, the boy’s voice seemed to change. It no longer trembled. It was a taunt. Oh, shit. Minghao’s smile dropped as he felt the boy tighten his grip around his shoulder.

Before Minghao even had time to realize what was happening, Hansol had already taken hold of his hair and rammed his head into the brick wall adjacent to them. Minghao blacked out instantly just before collapsing onto the pavement.

Hansol untied the knot in Minghao’s jacket and threw it to the side. “Was that good or was that good?” Hansol said, stretching out both of his wrists. “That was really good, right?”

Two older boys came around the corner. Both were tall, one with a devilish smirk painted across his face and the other with sharp eyes and an expression that looked as though it could kill.

“You never told me you were an actor, kiddo,” the first boy congratulated, walking over to the younger boy and patting him on the shoulder. “Nice one-liner, too. ‘You’re just the guy I’ve been looking for,’ wow,” he mimicked, feigning a shiver for added drama. “Gave me goosebumps.”

“Wonwoo, I know you’re not the complimenting type, but that was pretty good, right?” Hansol asked the other boy. The boy didn’t answer, but instead lingered back a bit, staring down at Minghao. 

Nonchalantly, Wonwoo meandered in the direction of Minghao and crouched down next to him on the ground. Taking one hand, Wonwoo patted Minghao’s cheek gently, as if trying to wake him from a nap.

“Right,” said the other tall boy, “you never told us what would happen once we got this far.”

When Minghao didn’t respond, the sharp-eyed boy stood up and sighed deeply, as if to say, “What a shame.” Then, suddenly, as if someone had flipped a switch, the boy picked up his foot and kicked Minghao hard in the side. The kick seemed to encompass a lifetime of pent up rage. Wonwoo’s eyes became vicious, and there was no mercy in them. Even the two other boys shuffled nervously where they stood, shocked by the sudden display of anger.

Minghao gasped for breath and rolled over onto one side, clutching his torso with both arms. Finally, Wonwoo spoke. “Jun, get him up.”

Hesitantly, the other tall boy bent down and yanked Minghao up by the collar, holding him up against the wall because Minghao was too weak to stay on his feet by himself. Minghao could already feel himself fading in and out of consciousness.

“He’s bleeding,” Jun commented, looking down at Minghao’s side.

Wonwoo’s eyes flicked up to meet Jun’s. “I must’ve hit his bad side.”

Jun swallowed hard and dropped his eyes. There was something paralyzing about Wonwoo’s gaze, something that Jun never could quite explain. All Jun knew was that it frightened him.

“Minghao! Minghao!” The four boys could hear someone in the distance, calling out Minghao’s name. Based on the progression of the voice, whoever it was seemed to be making his way towards them. 

Minghao blinked himself awake. Gathering all of the strength he had left, he tried to call out for help. “Mingy–”

Before he could get the word out, Minghao had the words knocked out of him by a swift knee to the stomach. Jun let him collapse onto the ground, watching as Minghao slid down the brick wall with one hand gripping his side. 

Wonwoo looked at Jun and Hansol. “Take care of the friend,” he ordered in an eerily calm voice. 

Without question or comment, Jun and Hansol slipped out of the alleyway into the street. Minghao could only follow them with his eyes as they left. “Don’t hurt Mingyu,” he breathed, “please. Don’t hurt him. Leave him alone.” 

Wonwoo was now crouched down on the ground, his face only inches away from Minghao’s.

“Please, he doesn’t have anything to do with this.” Minghao didn’t care that his voice had diminished into a pleading whimper. “Don’t let them hurt Mingyu.”

The corner of Wonwoo’s mouth twitched up into a smirk, which, incidentally, was infinitely more terrifying than the scowl. “It’s just you and me now, Hao,” he said quietly, placing one hand on Minghao’s left shoulder and the other hand on Minghao’s left arm. 

Minghao’s breathing was short and ragged. “Why are you doing th–” Minghao was cut off by the sound of snapping bone. He let out an agonizing cry and clenched his jaw to try and endure the pain. Wonwoo had just broken his arm. 

 

Mingyu heard it. The sound of Minghao crying out. He stopped in the middle of the dark, empty street and looked around, sweat beading on his temples and down the back of his neck. “Minghao!” he yelled, straining every muscle in his body to project the sound. 

“Hey, pal, could you quit screaming? People are trying to sleep.”

Mingyu whipped around to see a kid standing behind him with his hands folded across his chest.

“You’re not from around here, are you?” the kid continued. “Jun, tell this guy to stop screaming.”

Still caught off guard by the stranger, Mingyu wasn’t prepared to be jerked onto his back in the middle of the street. Another guy stood over him, a different guy, the brawn, it looked like. 

“Don’t you know it’s rude to go down the street screaming?” Jun jeered, standing over Mingyu with hands on his throat.

Mingyu tore at the boy’s fingers, trying to pry them off. This guy is going to kill me, Mingyu thought to himself.

Hansol stood back and watched as Jun did all of the work for him. “You’re a brute, Jun, honestly. Way to keep things clean.”

“You should’ve been looking out for him,” said a deep voice from behind him. Hansol turned around, but it was too late. Seungcheol had already taken him by the shoulders and kicked his legs out from under him. Twisting him like a rag doll, Seungcheol pinned Hansol’s arms to his back and held his face to the pavement, all before Jun even had time to turn his head. 

Oh, thank god, Mingyu thought. He quickly took advantage of Seungcheol’s distraction by wiggling just free enough to grab Jun’s head between his hands and yank him downwards towards himself. “Hyung, grab him!”

Seungcheol lunged towards Mingyu and hoisted Jun up by his abdomen, tossing him backward into Hansol like he weighed nothing. Mingyu leaped to his feet and quickly tried to catch his breath. “Minghao’s in trouble,” Mingyu wheezed.

Seungcheol placed himself between Mingyu and the two assailants. “Go find Minghao. I’ve got this.”

Mingyu hesitated, not sure if Seungcheol knew what he was getting himself into. But before Mingyu could protest, another pained cry echoed out in the night.

“Go!” Seungcheol commanded. 

And after one last moment of hesitation, Mingyu ran.

 

“Don’t play dumb, my friend,” Wonwoo warned, placing a hand this time on Minghao’s right shoulder and another on his right arm. Wonwoo’s fist was stained red after hitting Minghao over and over again on his injured side.

Minghao let his head fall backward against the wall, tears now streaming down his cheeks. “I’m not, I’m not playing dumb, I swear” Minghao sobbed, shaking his head at Wonwoo. “Please, don’t do this.”

Minghao braced himself as he felt Wonwoo tighten his grip around his upper arm. Minghao held his breath and closed his eyes tightly. But instead of hearing that sickening breaking sound, Minghao heard Wonwoo grunt as he released his grip on him.

Minghao opened his eyes to see Wonwoo being yanked up by the back of his collar and held up against the other wall. It was Mingyu.

“If you ever touch him again, I’ll kill you,” Mingyu growled, holding Wonwoo firmly by his shoulders. 

Wonwoo still held onto that gut-twisting smirk as he stared Mingyu down, but said nothing.

“Who are you?” Mingyu demanded. “Is it you? Are you the one who’s been hurting Minghao?” Mingyu shook Wonwoo roughly and pressed his face in close. “Answer me.”

Minghao had never seen Mingyu so angry. If Minghao weren’t so relieved to see him, and if he hadn’t felt so dizzy from blood loss, he’d be more uneasy. But still, Minghao had never really seen Mingyu angry at all, and it did scare him. The sound of Mingyu’s voice. The way he loomed over Wonwoo. It should've been terrifying. Mingyu was terrifying.

Wonwoo didn’t speak. He just smiled and let Mingyu fume. 

Finally, Mingyu frustratedly threw Wonwoo aside. “Get out of here,” Mingyu ordered. “Now.”

Wonwoo stood up calmly, dusted himself off, and looked at Mingyu once more before turning the corner out of sight. Mingyu watched as Wonwoo left, making a few seconds to make sure he wasn’t coming back. Once Mingyu felt safe again, he glanced down at Minghao, who could no longer keep his eyes open. Suddenly, the light returned to Mingyu’s eyes. The worry, the panic, all of the things Minghao recognized in Mingyu – they were all back. The fury subsided and was replaced by fear.

Mingyu kneeled down in front of Minghao. “Minghao? Hey bud, open your eyes.” Not quite sure what to do, Mingyu pushed his friend’s hair back out of his face. Minghao’s head began to fall to one side, so Mingyu tried to hold his head upright with both hands, calling out his friend’s name again and again. Suddenly, Mingyu noticed huge red patch that had formed on Minghao’s shirt and down the side of his trousers, blood now beginning to pool around him where he sat. 

“Oh, god,” Mingyu lifted Minghao’s shirt to reveal the wound on his torso had opened up and was still bleeding. He quickly grabbed Minghao’s jacket off of the ground and pressed down on his side to try and stop the bleeding. “Minghao, you’ve got to stay with me,” Mingyu said, using his free hand to try and shake Minghao awake. “Minghao, open your eyes.” Mingyu shook him again. “Minghao!” he called out Minghao’s name louder this time, panic overtaking him. But Minghao didn’t respond. 

Mingyu froze. For a few seconds, he examined his friend’s face. Minghao was pale and Mingyu couldn’t tell if he was breathing. “No, no, no, Minghao. Minghao, wake up.” He was so still. Minghao was so still.

Seungcheol finally rounded the corner, sporting a bruise on his face that promised to turn into a good black eye by morning. “Hey, those guys ran off with the other–” Seungcheol stopped when he saw Minghao leaning against the wall. He looked very small – smaller than usual. And he looked frail. He didn’t look well. No, Minghao did not look well at all.

Mingyu didn’t look up from Minghao. Other than the faint sound of Seungcheol talking to the ambulance, all noise seemed to go dull in Mingyu’s ears. Before he even realized it, he was crying. When did he start crying? He wasn’t quite sure. But boy, did he cry. Mingyu held his best friend’s hand and cried until the EMTs had to push him aside to take Minghao away.


	6. Wake Up, It's Ming-Superman

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Mingyu is dealing with some things he hasn't dealt with in a long time. The gang stays by Minghao's side, fearing the worst.

Seungcheol told Mingyu to go home, at least for a little while, while he stayed at the hospital. At first, Mingyu mindlessly protested, knowing that he couldn’t leave Minghao alone. Not again. But Seungcheol could see something in Mingyu’s eyes that worried him. It was less than shock, but more than just numbness. Mingyu’s expression seemed vacant, but Seungcheol could see the cogs turning in his mind. There were more thoughts, more words, more what-if’s going through Mingyu’s head than ever before, and Seungcheol wasn’t about to let him torture himself like that.

“Take the subway back to my place and hang out with Hoshi for a little while. I’ll call you as soon as anything happens,” Seungcheol advised. 

Mingyu sat in a chair in the waiting room and stared at the wall across from him. His eyes were red and his cheeks were puffy. In his hands he grasped Minghao’s bloody jacket. Seungcheol wished that Mingyu would give it to him so he’d stop thinking about it, but Seungcheol didn’t have the heart to take it from him.

“What do you think happened, hyung?”

Seungcheol sighed and rubbed his face with his hand. “There’s no way of knowing, Mingyu. Let’s not talk about it right now.”

“Why did he run off without telling anybody? We could’ve helped him. He didn’t have to–” Mingyu was interrupted by a break in his own voice. He cleared his throat and let his eyes fall to his twiddling thumbs. 

Seungcheol sat down beside Mingyu and rested his hand on his friend’s shoulder. Mingyu closed his eyes tightly and quickly wiped away tears. He was embarrassed that Seungcheol was seeing him cry. Again.

“Seungcheol, what if he’s dying in there?” Mingyu finally asked.

Seungcheol didn’t meet Mingyu’s eyes. “Then we do what we’ve always done,” he started, his voice exhausted and resigned. “We make sure it never happens again. To anybody.”

Mingyu turned to look at Seungcheol. He saw it in the way Seungcheol’s shoulders slouched and his gaze never quite reached eye-level. Seungcheol was tired. They all were.

 

Mingyu decided to take Seungcheol up on his offer, only if he promised to tag Mingyu in after a couple of hours when he got too tired. Mingyu and Hoshi sat in his and Seungcheol’s living room with the TV off, waiting for any word about Minghao. Mingyu was on the couch watching his phone, which lay screen-up on the coffee table. Hoshi lied on the ground holding his phone in his hand, dangling it over his face every once in a while to make sure he didn’t miss a notification. Before too long, around 2am, they’d both fallen asleep with their phones in their laps. 

Suddenly, Hoshi was jolted awake by the vibrations of his phone, which was balanced on his stomach. He held the phone over his face and squinted at the screen to see Seungcheol’s caller ID. Mingyu was still asleep, thankfully, so Hoshi tiptoed out of the room to answer the phone. He knew Mingyu needed some rest.

Once Hoshi had made it into his bedroom, he answered the phone. “Hello?”

“Hosh?” Seungcheol’s voice was quiet and groggy. Hoshi figured he’d fallen asleep in the waiting room of the hospital at some point. 

“Any news on Minghao?” 

“He’s going to be okay. He’s sleeping right now, but he should wake up soon. Tell Mingyu not to worry.”

“Mingyu’s asleep right now, but I’ll tell him later.”

Seungcheol sighed a sigh of relief. “Thank god. I was afraid he wouldn’t sleep. Don’t wake him up, okay?”

“You got it,” Hoshi replied. “Now get back here and get some rest. I’ll come up to the hospital and wait in case he wakes up.”

“You sure?”

“If you don’t come back I swear I will come there and drag you away.”

“Thanks for caring.” Hoshi could hear the smile in Seungcheol’s voice. “I’ll be back soon.”

 

Around 9am, Hoshi was walking from the cafeteria back to the ICU waiting room with coffee in one hand and lemon pound cake in the other. A nurse caught up to him in the hallway to tell him that Minghao had woken up, and at first, Hoshi was so excited that he nearly dropped his coffee on the poor nurse’s scrubs. He managed to dial it back once she told him that he’d been acting somewhat peculiar since he’d woken up. 

“What do you mean by peculiar?” Hoshi asked.

“Well, peculiar may be the wrong word. He just seems like he’s still a little shaken up,” the nurse replied. “I tried to talk to him, but I could barely even hear what he was saying he was speaking so quietly. The only reason I knew to come find you was because you were listed as one of his contacts.”

“Oh, don’t worry, that’s not weird. He’s just _really_ quiet.”

Hoshi asked if he could go see Minghao, and the nurse said yes. As they walked back to his room, Hoshi felt a little awkward still carrying around a loaf of pound cake in his hand, seeing as this was somewhat of a serious moment, but was also too awkward to just eat the pound cake like a normal person. This didn’t do much good for his nerves. 

The nurse let Hoshi into the room. Minghao was staring up at the ceiling in the hospital bed when Hoshi entered with the nurse. “Hey…” Hoshi said smiling. Minghao turned his head to look at him. Minghao smiled back.

“I’ll leave you two alone to talk. I’ll be just outside if you need me,” the nurse said, and she left. 

Hoshi walked up to the side of the bed. “Hey, little brother. How are you feeling?”

Minghao was quiet for a moment. “I feel fine,” he murmured shyly. He gently dragged a hand across his side. “The stitches feel pretty weird, though. I can feel them under the bandages.”

“We’re really glad you’re okay, Hao,” he said, examining the long cast suspended on the sling that hung across Minghao’s chest.

_We?_ Minghao’s eyes suddenly widened and he stared at Hoshi. He was so disoriented that he nearly forgot what happened. “Is Mingyu okay?” he asked.

“Relax, kiddo, Mingyu’s fine. Seungcheol’s sporting a wicked black eye though. Makes him look pretty badass, so don’t comment on it. It’ll bolster his ego.”

Minghao laughed a little. Laughing hurt some, but he didn’t mind. He was just glad his friends were okay. 

“Hey, I have my phone if you want to give them a call. They’ll want to know you’re awake.”

Minghao nodded. He wanted so badly to talk to Mingyu. For some reason, talking to Mingyu always made him feel at ease. 

 

Mingyu was still asleep on the couch around 9:20am. Seungcheol didn’t dare wake him when he got back. He didn’t even turn on the lights when he went to the kitchen to get coffee that morning. Seungcheol didn’t end up falling asleep, so around 8, he decided he’d just get some caffeine in him and stick it out. 

_Beep. Beep. Beep._

Mingyu awoke slowly, a little confused, very sleepy. At first, he didn’t register the sound of his cell phone beeping somewhere in the couch cushions. Once he realized his phone was ringing, he jumped up and scanned the area looking for it. He picked up one of the couch cushions and set it down on the ground. 

_Ah ha!_ Mingyu grabbed his phone from inside of the couch and looked at the caller ID. His heart started pounding. The caller ID read “Hoshi.” Mingyu hesitated. Fear gripped at his chest and he feared the worst. He was so scared of hearing Hoshi’s voice over the phone telling him that Minghao didn’t make it through the night. Mingyu’s stomach turned just thinking about it. Mingyu thought about Minghao’s bloody jacket that he left hanging over the shower in the bathroom. He thought about how frail Minghao looked in the moments just before the EMTs arrived. There was so much blood. Too much blood. Mingyu couldn’t bring himself to answer the phone.

“Who’s that?” Seungcheol asked, walking into the living room with wet hair and a toothbrush in his mouth.

Mingyu snapped out of his daze. “Hoshi,” he replied. “When did you get b–” 

Seungcheol’s eyes widened. “Answer it!” he interrupted.

Mingyu took a deep breath and, before he could process his own actions, he pressed the call button. “Hello?” he said, silently cursing himself for letting his voice for shake so much. 

“Mingyu?”

Mingyu swallowed hard. The voice sounded so quiet. “Hoshi, is he okay?”

“Actually, it’s Minghao. And yeah, I’m okay,” Minghao mumbled.

Mingyu felt his legs nearly crumple underneath him. He was so glad to hear Minghao’s voice. Overcome with relief, Mingyu sank down back onto the side of the couch that still had a cushion on it. “Minghao…”

Seungcheol rushed over to Mingyu and looked down at him gravely. “Mingyu? What happened?” Seungcheol asked, toothbrush in hand. 

Mingyu looked up at Seungcheol. “It’s Minghao. He’s awake.”

Seungcheol released the breath he’d been holding. “Man, you scared me.”

 

They decided to wait and discuss everything with Minghao in person once they got to the hospital. It didn’t take Seungcheol and Mingyu long to get back by subway, but Mingyu was still antsy.

Seungcheol and Mingyu jogged through the automatic glass doors leading into the building and quickly found somebody to lead them to the recovery unit. It didn’t take them very long to spot Hoshi, who was shoving nearly an entire loaf of lemon pound cake into his mouth at once. 

Seungcheol sighed exasperatedly as they walked up to Hoshi. “Well, at least if you choke you’re surrounded by doctors.”

“Can we go see Minghao?” Mingyu asked the nurse.

Hoshi put up a finger to politely butt in, his mouth stuffed with pound cake. “Well, I think he’s actually napping again,” Hoshi mumbled. 

The nurse nodded. “The pain medication is probably making him drowsy. If you go in, I bet you could keep him awake long enough to have a conversation. Just don’t let him exert himself too much.”

“Mingyu, why don’t you go in by yourself,” Seungcheol suggested. “I think I might stress him out at this point.”

“He does have that effect,” Hoshi added, returned with a quick smack to the head by Seungcheol. 

Mingyu agreed and the nurse led him to the room. He turned the door knob soundlessly and peeked his head in before entering. Before going in, he looked back at the nurse as if to get permission. The nurse nodded, and Mingyu stepped inside quietly. 

Minghao seemed to be asleep, lying on his back with an IV in the small of his arm. The whole picture seemed surreal to Mingyu. He’d only witnessed this scene in movies and TV dramas. It took a good look at Minghao’s face for Mingyu to realize that all of this was actually happening. 

“Hao?” Mingyu sat down in a chair positioned next to the bed. “Hao, you awake?” Mingyu didn’t like seeing Minghao like this. He knew that if Minghao could see himself like Mingyu was seeing him now, he’d be furious at himself. He’d call himself weak and useless. Mingyu hated that he did that.

Minghao shifted a little. Mingyu’s immediate response was to freeze so to not wake Minghao up, but then he remembered that the whole idea was to interact with Minghao. 

“Minghao? Are you awake?”

Minghao groaned. “No… go away…”

Mingyu smiled. He could tell Minghao was doing well because he was giving him sass. “Hey, wake up, you limp noodle,” Mingyu said, picking up Minghao’s un-cast wrist and dropping it back on the bed. 

Minghao grabbed Mingyu’s hand and threw it back at him. Mingyu laughed. 

“Hao, you gotta wake up. It’s kidney-scope time. They’re going to stick a tiny camera up your–” Without even opening his eyes, Minghao grabbed a magazine off the table and smacked Mingyu with it before he could finish that sentence.

 

After a few minutes of banter, Mingyu finally got Minghao to talk to him a little bit about something other than just threatening to fight Mingyu once he got his stitches out. Mingyu asked him why he ran off in the first place, and Minghao told him the story. 

"So those were the guys who've been hurting you?"

"Two of them were. I'd never met the younger guy. That's why he caught me off guard."

“He tricked you?” Mingyu asked, slightly incredulous, slightly teasing.

“You make it sound like he outwitted me or something,” Minghao defended, rubbing his eyes sleepily with his wrist. “Here I was, just trying to be a good citizen, now I’m being criticized.”

“You were never so courageous,” Mingyu said, smiling.

Minghao smiled back. “I guess part of that’s your doing.” Man, he looked exhausted.

Mingyu’s cadence dropped a little. He suddenly began to think about the way Minghao looked. Back in the alley. Bruised and battered. He was still bruised and battered, but now he had bandages. “Yeah, I guess you’re right,” Mingyu murmured.

Minghao’s smile fell as he sensed that Mingyu was thinking about something. “Mingyu?”

Still smiling sadly to himself, Mingyu’s eyes fell to the ground. “I guess it is my fault, isn’t it? That all this happened. If I’d been looking out for you…”

Minghao crinkled his eyebrows together and leaned in towards Mingyu. In one swift move, he reached over and flicked Mingyu right in the middle of his forehead.

“Ow!” Mingyu said, rubbing his head. “Stop hitting me!”

“You get that out of your head, Kim Mingyu, you hear me?” Minghao said crossly. “I’ve known you for less than 48 hours and you’ve already saved my life at least once. Don’t forget that.”

Mingyu laughed slightly. “Wow, you really have gotten brave! Look at you, shameless even! Even with a cast on, laying in a hospital bed, you’re still picking fights. I could pull your IV right out of your arm!”

Minghao gave him a look. “I’d just flick you again and take my IV back,” Minghao replied, making himself laugh at the thought.

Mingyu laughed along with him until he realized that Minghao shouldn’t be laughing with his stitches. Unable to control his own laughter, Mingyu tried to calm Minghao down. “Hey! Stop! You’re going to ruin your stitches!”

After a few moments, Minghao’s laughs descended into soft chuckles as he stared up at the ceiling with a smile on his face. “I don’t care. Yesterday was one of the weirdest days of my whole life, now I’m in a hospital bed, and I still haven’t had this much fun in ages.”

“Well, I care,” Mingyu said, shoving Minghao’s head playfully to the side. “Go back to sleep, and no more fun. You hear me?” 

Minghao made a smug face at Mingyu, who stood up from the chair and handed “No fun! That’s an order!” Mingyu gave Minghao the “I’m watching you” hand motion. “No fun,” he repeated. 

Minghao rolled his eyes as Mingyu turned to leave the room. “Hey!” Minghao called.

Mingyu turned on his heel and looked at Minghao. 

“I’m glad you’re okay, Superman.”

A smirk rose up on Mingyu’s face. “I told you it’d catch on.”

 

“I hear you were thwarted yesterday.”

“A much better opportunity came along,” Wonwoo replied. He was walking along a wall covered in framed photos. When Wonwoo saw a frame that looked like it could’ve been even a little off-center, he meticulously straightened it. The picture was of two young boys – they looked like they were brothers.

“Really?”

“What are a few broken bones and bruises? That’s not pain.” Wonwoo hesitated. “I’m going to show him what it feels like to lose somebody that he loves. Then he’ll know pain.”

“That’s where I come in?”

“That’s where you come in,” Wonwoo confirmed.

“Then you have to make sure Minghao knows why.”

“Oh,” Wonwoo growled, “he’ll know why.”


	7. An Enemy of My Enemy is a Friend of Mine

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Mingyu is worried when somebody dangerous comes into town. Wen Junhui decides that he wants something more out of life. In order to get things done, Wonwoo seeks the help of the only person in this world who Kim Mingyu is truly afraid of.

Minghao went home a couple of days later. His cousin was called back from a business trip in Shanghai even though Minghao reassured him that he’d be fine. He had friends around who could help him, after all. But Minghao’s cousin was a good guy, and he wouldn’t let Minghao be alone, at least until he knew Minghao was okay. Even so, when Minghao’s cousin came back, he realized that his cousin’s new friends – Seungcheol, Hoshi, and Mingyu – were at his house more than their own, it seemed. He was glad his little cousin was in good hands if he couldn’t be there all of the time. Even if they _did_ crowd his living room and eat all of his food.

“That night,” Seungcheol asked, handing Minghao a cup of coffee, “what was he trying to get out of you?”

Minghao reached around awkwardly with his unbroken arm to grab the cup. He shook his head and shrugged his shoulders. “I honestly don't know. All he said, over and over, was, ‘Was it worth it? Was it worth it?’ I still don't know what he was talking about.”

Hoshi shuddered. “That is so twisted,” he murmured, sinking into Minghao’s couch next to Mingyu.

Minghao to adjust himself in the lounger he was sitting it. It was kind of swallowing him up. Seungcheol rested his arm on the back of the chair, causing it to rock a little. “Minghao, you’ve got to be a lot more careful from now on. And we’ll be looking out for you, okay?”

Minghao nodded. “I’ll be more careful. No more bravery and valiance out of me – not for a long time.”

Seungcheol patted Minghao on his good shoulder. “Good. That’s what I like to hear.”

 

A couple of months went by, and Minghao recovered well. October became December, and winter break was around the corner. Things stayed quiet for Minghao during that time. Even though he couldn’t participate in class, Seungcheol insisted Minghao join him and Mingyu for a meal before taekwondo every Wednesday. Usually, Minghao just ended up sticking around after that, and after class they would all head across the street to Seungcheol and Hoshi’s house to watch movies. Occasionally, they’d invite Hong Jisoo, Cheol and Hoshi’s next door neighbor, over to join them when they all hung out together. When Minghao wasn’t at school or at the dojo, he was usually getting into some kind of nonsense with Mingyu, who rarely left his side. Whether it was taking a bus to the marketplace, playing video games on Minghao’s cousin’s big screen, or eating at Nagomi Noodles, Minghao and Mingyu became nearly as close as two people could be. 

“One jjamppong, one naengmyeon,” Jisoo said as he placed two bowls of noodles on the table between Mingyu and Minghao. Just as usual, Mingyu and Minghao sat out on the back patio at Nagomi, under the string lights. “Enjoy! Congratulations on getting through your last day of class before the break!” Jisoo said.

“You’re incredible, my friend,” Mingyu said, breathing in the smell of the food. Jisoo bowed with a kind smile and ambled back into the main restaurant.

Mingyu took a sip of his coffee, which he held close to him with both hands. 

“Mingyu, why are you holding your cup like that? Your hands are the size of dinner plates. That is so unnecessary,” Minghao remarked. 

“It is so cold out here, and I’m dying,” Mingyu replied, pulling his legs up to sit cross-legged in his chair. “We’ve got to start sitting inside now that it’s gotten so cold.”

“Mingyu, what’s the spiciest food you’ve ever eaten?” Minghao asked, taking a drink of his water.

“Well, once,” Mingyu started, “I got this stick chicken from a food vendor in Myeongdong, and I really thought that I was going to die after I ate it.”

“I want to try it,” Minghao said confidently. “We should go to Myeongdong one day.”

Mingyu scoffed. “If I couldn’t handle it, there’s no way you can!”

Minghao gave him an exasperated look. “Face it, Mingyu, I’m just tougher than you. That’s all there is to it.”

“You think so?” Mingyu sat back in his chair and folded his arms across his chest. “Fine. You. Me. This weekend. Myeongdong. We’ll see who handles spicy chicken better.” Mingyu held out his hand as if making a business deal.

Minghao smirked and shook Mingyu’s hand. “You’ve got a deal.”

About ten minutes into Mingyu and Minghao’s meal, as they chatted and joked and shared stories about their lives, Jisoo stumbled over to Mingyu’s side. Minghao caught a glimpse of his expression, and it worried him a little bit. The guy looked like he was trying to keep a calm face like a manager trying to keep a straight face as he escorts people out of his burning department store. 

Mingyu looked up at Jisoo, and, in a split second, Mingyu seemed to pick up something from Jisoo’s expression that put him on edge. Jisoo bent down and whispered something in Mingyu’s ear, causing Mingyu to sit up a little in his chair. He looked at Minghao, who was staring back, straining to try and hear what Jisoo was saying to Mingyu. When Jisoo finished saying whatever he was saying to Mingyu, Mingyu nodded up at him. Jisoo apologized quickly to Minghao before trotting away on light but hasty feet. 

“Hey, Minghao, I think we should probably head out of here. Jisoo is closing up shop for a little while,” Mingyu said quietly.

Minghao stared at Mingyu, well aware that something was going on. “What happened? Why is he closing so early?”

Mingyu stood up and grabbed both his backpack and Minghao’s backpack, slinging them over each of his shoulders. “I’ll tell you after we leave, I promise. But we should probably head out of here.”

Minghao stood up and grabbed his backpack out of Mingyu’s hand. “Why can’t you tell me now?”

Mingyu looked around. He saw Jisoo turning off the lights inside and locking the front doors. Mingyu sighed nervously and looked at Minghao. “Look, Jisoo thinks he saw somebody outside the shop a second ago – that guy who graduated from our school – the really, really, really bad guy,” Mingyu’s voice had descended into a whisper. “He’s the one who has history with Jisoo, and Jisoo just thinks it’d be better if he closed up shop for a while.”

Minghao’s heart began to race. _This guy is so bad that he’s closing the restaurant early? Just because Jisoo might have seen him loitering?_ But Minghao didn’t ask anymore questions. He knew by now that, sometimes, he just had to trust Mingyu for his word. “Okay, let’s leave then.”

Mingyu nodded and looked back up to see if he could catch Jisoo’s gaze. He and Jisoo made brief eye-contact and Mingyu waved at him through the window of the restaurant. Jisoo gestured to Mingyu to use the side gate that led directly onto the main road instead of going through the back. Mingyu and Minghao got out of there sooner rather than later.

An awkward silence hung between Mingyu and Minghao as they walked away from the restaurant. Minghao wasn’t sure if he was supposed to ask Mingyu what he was thinking. Although, Minghao could tell from the look on Mingyu’s face that he was worried. Mingyu worries a lot. 

“Hey, Mingyu?” Minghao asked, attempting to break Mingyu out of his stressed silence.

Mingyu looked down at Minghao. “Yeah?”

“Tell me a little bit more about this guy. You said he was Jisoo’s friend, right?”

Mingyu looked around, as if to make sure nobody was listening. “Yeah, they were friends at the beginning of high school. They were both pretty quiet, so they sort of clung to each other for support, I guess? Then, out of absolutely nowhere right before their junior year, this guy became an entirely different person.” Minghao could tell Mingyu was getting riled up. “It would’ve been bad enough if he’d just left Jisoo in the dust, but he turned around and started terrorizing him.”

“You tell ‘em, Ming-Superman,” Minghao said, trying to lighten the mood a little. 

Mingyu smiled. “Yeah, well. He’s just not the kind of person you want to get involved with,” Mingyu said. “He dropped out of school before he graduated and seemed to disappear off the face of the planet. The rumor is that he was fleeing a murder charge for the death of one of the neighborhood kids, but… I mean, nobody’s really sure if that’s true or not.”

“Murder?” Minghao swallowed hard. “And he might be hanging around again?”

Mingyu could sense that Minghao was uneasy about all of this. He wrapped his long arm around Minghao’s shoulders and squeezed him reassuringly. “I doubt it. Don’t worry about it, bud. Besides, you’re not involved with this guy, _and_ you’ve got people looking out for you. Nothing’s going to happen to you.”

Mingyu had this incredible way of making Minghao feel at ease so quickly. It was something about the tone of his voice or the warmth of his presence, but it just felt safe. “If you say so,” Minghao said.

“I know so,” Mingyu shot back with a comforting pat on Minghao’s back. “You have nothing to worry about.”

Minghao hesitated for a moment before he asked: “What about you?”

Mingyu gave Minghao a confused glance as they walked along the street. “What do you mean?”

“I mean, I’m not involved with this guy, but you were, weren’t you? You don’t think – I mean, if he _were_ around again – you don’t think he’d want to do anything to hurt you, right?”

Mingyu didn’t answer at first. Then, regaining a confidence smirk on his face, he replied, “Well, even if we did run into each other, I could take him. I was basically Jisoo’s personal bodyguard in high school, remember?”

“Yes, because you literally remind me _all of the time_ ,” Minghao groaned. “I get it, you were a ‘defender of the weak’ and ‘on behalf of the moon I will right wrongs and triumph over evil’ and all that.”

Mingyu leaned in with his ear tilted at Minghao. “And… go on…”

Minghao rubbed his face with his hands. “Please, don’t make me say Ming-Superman again.”

“You just did.”

Minghao smacked Mingyu in the arm. 

 

A couple of days later, Minghao was alone in his cousin’s house, scrolling through Netflix and eating Cheerios out of a Tupperware bowl. It was the weekend and Mingyu had to back out of going to Myeongdong because he had strep throat or the flu or something like that. Whatever it was, he refused to be around anyone for fear of, in Mingyu’s words, “infecting the public,” which Minghao thought was both hilarious and very true to Mingyu’s character. Minghao made sure Mingyu was okay before getting off the phone with him, and Mingyu insisted that he’d be fine after some rest.

Minghao eventually flipped on cable. There was something about Korean game shows that Minghao just couldn’t get enough of. During the summers, when he’d go home for a couple of months, he’d always miss the Korean cable TV the most. 

_Knock, knock, knock._

Mingyu paused the TV and craned his head to try and get a glimpse of who was at the door through the textured windows on either side. He saw the fuzzy shape of a person at the door, but the windows weren’t clear, so he couldn’t make out anyone specific. Minghao tiptoed to the door and looked through the peephole.

_Wen Junhui._

Minghao’s stomach turned and his heart nearly burst out of his chest. Afraid that Jun might see him, Minghao crouched down in front of the door. 

_Knock, knock, knock._

The sound of the knocking made Minghao jump. Minghao wanted to call Mingyu or Seungcheol, but his phone was on the end table and he was afraid to step away from the door for risk being seen through the textured windows.

“Minghao, I know you’re in there. It’s just me by myself. I want to talk to you.”

Minghao barely even breathed, terrified of making any noise that might be detectable.

“Minghao, I swear on my life I’m alone. I already saw you, so just let me in.” Jun was speaking Chinese now, which, for some reason, gave Minghao a little more confidence. Knowing that he’d already been spotted, Minghao rose up off of the floor on shaky knees. 

“Okay, like I know I’m in no position to be making requests of you, but it’s freezing out here, so could you, like, make a decision on this for me? I think I’m getting frostbite.”

The door creaked open. Junhui took a step back so to give Minghao some room. 

“Minghao, hey liste–”

_Wham._

In less than 1 second, Minghao had stepped forward and decked Wen Junhui right in the face. 

Jun stumbled backward and placed a hand on his cheek where he was hit. Immensely surprised, Jun looked up at Minghao, whose fist was still suspended in the air, still shaking form adrenaline rush. 

“Did you just punch me in the face?” Jun’s voice was surprisingly calm. Not necessarily uninvolved, but, all things considered, fairly relaxed for someone who was just punched in the face.

Minghao examined his own fist, still in a bit of a daze. As if not completely convinced himself, he replied, “…Yes…”

Jun wiped the side of his mouth to make sure he wasn’t bleeding. “Well, don’t say it like you’re not sure.”

“If you’re not out of here in ten seconds, I’m calling the cops,” Minghao threatened, his voice shaking. 

“Minghao, I don’t want to fight with you anymore.”

Minghao was glad that they were speaking Chinese, because he could say the things he’d been wanting to say for years but only knew in his native tongue. “Screw yourself.”

Jun sighed. “Listen, I don’t have to come in, but at least let me make my case. Please?”

Minghao hesitated. Why was he hesitating? This is the guy who helped the guy who has nearly killed him twice now. “Fine. You have five seconds.”

“Look, I didn’t sign up for this. All I wanted was to make it through this life after I moved to Korea and I thought Wonwoo could help me do that, but I don’t want to do it like this anymore.”

“Why are you only telling me this now?”

“It’s kind of a long story, but things are getting to be more than I bargained for on this side of things.”

“You’re finally scared straight, huh?” Minghao remarked, folding his arms across his chest.

“Scared _straight?_ ” Jun looked Minghao up and down with knitted brows. With a suggestive twinge in his voice he replied, “Well, I wouldn’t say that.”

Minghao stepped inside and slammed the door.

“Aw, come on! Now wait a second!” Jun banged on Minghao’s door with his fist. “Come on, Minghao! You’re being stubborn! Obstinance is not a virtue!”

A few moments passed and Minghao opened the door once again, this time only just. Jun gave him a cheeky, sly smile, and Minghao flushed a bright shade of red. “We’ll talk more about this later,” Minghao said, trying to force the awkwardness out of his voice. “And don’t look at me like that,” he added just before shutting the door again. 

Jun chucked to himself. Satisfied, he called his phone number out to Minghao through the door. “Call me if you want to talk about Wonwoo. Or about the weather. Or about nothing. Just call me,” Jun said, turning on his heel and walking away. 

 

_Ten minutes earlier._

“Yeah, I’m okay,” Mingyu said on the phone to Minghao. “I’ll just get some sleep. Don’t worry about me.” Mingyu sighed deeply. “I’ll drink lots of water, yes. Thank you. Next week. See you later.”

Mingyu shoved his phone into his back pocket and leaned back into the park bench. He glared forward resentfully at Wonwoo, who was sitting on the park bench across from him. 

“That’s cute,” Wonwoo commented, leaning forward with his elbows on his knees.

Mingyu didn’t flinch. “It’s low enough to threaten my friend to get me here,” Mingyu leaned forward a bit to put himself on the offensive. With a combative look in his eye, Mingyu warned in a low voice: “but you picked the wrong person to patronize.”

Wonwoo also didn’t flinch. He held Mingyu’s gaze and smiled with an irritating belligerence that made Mingyu’s blood pressure spike. 

“Well, are you going to say something or are you just going to sit there?” Mingyu asked. 

“It’s obvious why Minghao likes you so much,” Wonwoo shot back with a glint in his eye. “You’ve got this thing… It’s very ‘macho.’ Well done on that.”

Minghao huffed and reclined back onto the park bench. “What do you want?”

Wonwoo followed suit and leaned back as well. “Let’s talk about Yoon Jeonghan.”


	8. Where's Mingyu?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Minghao wakes up to worrying news. Mingyu is nowhere to be found, and things suddenly become more dangerous than anyone ever anticipated.

Minghao woke up the next day at nearly 2 in the afternoon. When his cousin wasn’t in town, Minghao would take the liberty to sleep as long as he possibly could. Because he preferred being by himself, Minghao rarely ever missed anything.

Minghao walked into the kitchen to get his phone, which sat charging on the counter. He knew that if he slept with his phone by his bed, he’d never get to sleep, so he opted to charge it in a different room. When Minghao approached his cellphone, it was buzzing with text notifications. Minghao picked it up and examined the screen.

_Choi Seungcheol (4 messages). Choi Seungcheol (3 missed calls). Kwon Hoshi (16 messages.)_

Minghao cursed the day that Mingyu taught Hoshi that he could send memes by text message. Although, even for Hoshi, 16 was a lot. 4 was certainly a lot for Seungcheol, who hated texting. Minghao opened the messages from Seungcheol first.

 

Choi Seungcheol: Hey, Hao, have you talked to Mingyu today?

Choi Seungcheol: Let me know if you hear from Mingyu. It’s probably fine, so don’t worry.

Choi Seungcheol: Mingyu’s parents told me Mingyu never came home last night. If he’s with you, let me know so I can tell them. 

Choi Seungcheol: Minghao, call me right now.

 

Minghao’s heart began to race in his chest. Did something happen to Mingyu? Trying to keep himself from jumping to conclusions, he clicked on the messages from Hoshi.

 

Kwon Hoshi: Yo Hao text me when you can

Kwon Hoshi: Hey little bro Mingyus parents need to know if hes at your house

Kwon Hoshi: hey tell Mingyu somebody found his phone and wallet on a park bench

Kwon Hoshi: Hey

Kwon Hoshi: Yo

Kwon Hoshi: hhhheeeeeyyyyy

Kwon Hoshi: answer

Kwon Hoshi: your

Kwon Hoshi: texts

Kwon Hoshi: hey

(and so on.)

 

Minghao called Seungcheol immediately. 

Click. “Hello?” Seungcheol answered. 

“Hey, hyung, it’s Minghao. 

“Thank god,” Seungcheol breathed. “I was scared you were gone too.”

_Gone._ The word made Minghao’s chest tighten with anxiety. “Mingyu’s not at my house. Have you heard from him yet?”

“No, but Minghao, be really careful today. Where are you right now?”

“I’m at home,” Minghao replied. “Seungcheol, what’s going on?”

“Somebody broke into Jisoo’s house yesterday night. They can’t find him either. He and Mingyu are both missing.”

_Oh, god._ Minghao’s mind flashed back to the conversation he had with Mingyu only days before. _“I mean, I’m not involved with this guy, but you were, weren’t you?” “Well, even if we did run into each other, I could take him. I was basically Jisoo’s personal bodyguard in high school, remember?”_ Minghao could hear Mingyu’s voice in his head, repeating over and over again. _But what was the guy’s name? Mingyu never told me the name. Damnit._

“Hyung, do you think that Mingyu is in trouble?” Minghao asked in a quiet voice. 

“I don’t know,” Seungcheol replied in a grave voice. “But we’re trying to figure it out. Mingyu’s parents haven’t called the cops yet, but if he’s not with you, maybe they should.”

A million thoughts were running through Minghao’s head. He was afraid of what might’ve happened. He was afraid of this mystery person who was roaming the streets. He didn’t even know if Mingyu was dead or alive. Minghao wasn’t sure if he wanted to tell Seungcheol about Jisoo’s friend for fear of misleading somebody, especially police, but he decided that, no matter what action he took, he couldn’t sit around doing nothing. 

“Minghao, are you still there?” Seungcheol asked.

Minghao shook himself out of his own thoughts. “Yeah, I’m here.”

“Okay. You just be careful today, okay? And don’t worry. We’ll find Mingyu.”

Minghao felt himself go a little weak in the knees, his stomach turning with onset fear and worry. “I just talked to him yesterday…” Minghao muttered, his voice fuzzy to his own ears.

Seungcheol paused. “Wait, what did you say?”

“I said I just talked to him yesterday,” Minghao repeated, realizing that this was information that he _could_ definitively give. “Yeah, yesterday afternoon I talked with Mingyu on the phone.”

“What did he say?”

“We’d planned to go to Myeongdong yesterday, but Mingyu called to tell me that he was sick and couldn't make it.”

“Minghao, Mingyu’s parents told me that he left the house to go to Myeongdong around noon yesterday.” Pieces of the puzzle began to come together in Seungcheol’s mind. “Or, at least, that’s what he told them. That’s why I assumed he went with you.”

Minghao found himself ambling mindlessly into the living room to try and walk off some of the nervous energy pulsing through his body. “So you think he was lying?” he asked. 

“I don’t know, but at least now we have something to go off of. I’ll tell Mingyu’s parents. And Minghao, don’t leave the house today, please. Just for my peace of mind. Okay? And lock your doors.”

Minghao agreed and clicked out of the phone call. For a few moments, he found himself standing in the middle of the living room, looking around, slightly disoriented as he tried to process. Then, after a moment of thought, Minghao put his phone into his back pocket, rushed to the front door, and grabbed his coat and keys. _Sorry, Seungcheol,_ he thought to himself as he opened the front door and dashed out into the cold. He had to find out more about this friend of Hong Jisoo. 

 

Minghao ran full speed from his house to the subway and from the subway to Nagomi Noodles. When Minghao reached Nagomi, he saw that a young guy was already closing the front doors and locking them. All of the lights in the restaurant were off. 

Minghao ran up to the young guy. Panting and out of breath, both hands on his knees and cursing himself for being out of shape, Minghao wheezed, “Excuse me?”

The young guy looked at Minghao with wide eyes. “Hey, are you alright?” He placed his hands on both of Minghao’s shoulders. “Hey, breathe. What’s your name?”

Minghao took a deep breath before answering. “Xu Minghao.”

“Minghao,” the young guy started, “what’s going on? Can I help you with something?”

“Do you work here?” Minghao asked, straightening himself up. 

“Yeah, I do,” the guy answered. “But we close early on Sundays.”

“So you know Hong Jisoo?”

The young guy’s face became solemn. “Yeah, I do.”

"So you know that he's missing?" 

The young guy looked at Minghao with wide eyes. "What? Are you serious?" 

“And I think I might have an idea of who it was. Can we talk?”

The young guy gave Minghao a doubtful look. “Listen, Minghao, I’ve got to be somewhere right now, but I _do_ want to talk to you about this. Jisoo is a good friend of mine, and I’m worried about him too. Here,” the young guy handed Minghao his cell phone, “put your number in my phone and I’ll call you as soon as I can. We’ll talk.”

Minghao took the phone and put his number in the contacts. As he was typing, Minghao asked, “What’s your name?”

“Yoon Jeonghan,” the young guy replied. “I’ll text it to you so you’ll have my number.”

“Great, thanks so much,” Minghao replied. The guy gave Minghao a quick bow and a gentle smile, much like Hong Jisoo would’ve done, and went on his way. 

Minghao stared through the glass doors into the restaurant for a moment as he contemplated what his next move would be. It looked strange with all of the lights off and all of the chairs stacked neatly by tables. _Since when is this place open on Sundays?_

 

_The previous day._

“Let’s talk about Yoon Jeonghan,” Wonwoo said, leaning into the park bench.

Mingyu shifted uncomfortably in his seat. “Why would you want to talk about him?”

“Aw, you make me feel terribly unwanted, Mingyu,” said a gentle voice from behind him.

Mingyu froze. _No, no, no, no, please no._ Just then, someone laid a hand lightly on Mingyu’s shoulder and every muscle in his body tensed. 

“Well, aren’t you going to say hello?” Jeonghan asked. 

“Why are you here?” Mingyu was afraid to even make a move, even just turn his head to look at Jeonghan. 

He didn’t have to, though. Dragging a hand along the back of Mingyu’s shoulders, Jeonghan walked around to sit next to him on the park bench, causing Mingyu to become visibly uncomfortable.

Wonwoo smirked. It was gratifying to see Mingyu squirm.

“Why are you here?” Mingyu asked again.

“Come on, Kim Mingyu, that’s no way to treat an old schoolmate,” Jeonghan remarked, placing a hand on Mingyu’s knee. Mingyu slowly turned his head to scowl in Jeonghan’s direction. “Well, I mean if you’re so curious–” Jeonghan leaned in close to whisper in Mingyu’s ear– “I’m here to take away all of the people you care about.” 

“Stop it,” Mingyu hissed. He was trembling now, and he hated himself for it. He just hoped Jeonghan didn’t notice. 

“Unless,” Wonwoo added, “you come with us for a while. Then everybody stays safe. Seungcheol, Soonyoung, Minghao…”

“If you put a hand on any of them I swear to god–”

Jeonghan silenced Mingyu by placing a hand gently on the back of his neck. He could feel Mingyu tense up. “Well, it looks like you’ve made your decision then,” Jeonghan said in a sweet voice. “We can head out whenever you’re ready.”

Mingyu released the tension in his body into clenched fists. “Tell me why first.”

“Why what, friend?” Jeonghan asked, resting his head on Mingyu’s shoulder. 

Mingyu gritted his teeth. “Why I’m being kidnapped.”

Wonwoo stood to his feet and put his hands in his pockets. “Because little Minghao needs atonement, and he obviously hasn’t got it into his head yet.”

“What for?” Mingyu questioned.

Impatient, Jeonghan stood up, pulling Mingyu up with him by the back of his shirt. “You sure do ask a lot of questions, Mingyu.” He put a firm hand on Mingyu’s shoulder. “Let’s walk and talk.”


	9. Fear

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> With Jun's help, Minghao continues to find the name of the person he's looking for. All of Mingyu's fears seem to manifest themselves in less than a day. Jeonghan realizes that this job is more than he signed up for.

Wen Junhui sat piled on a couch with two other dudes playing Super Smash Bros. Brawl on Wii. The three of them were throwing elbows trying to sabotage each other’s gameplay, yelling and laughing and, eventually, spilling a bowl of chips on the floor. 

“Hey, Seungkwan, can you grab more chips?” Seokmin asked. 

“Jun spilled them! Why do I have to get more?” Seungkwan asked theatrically with a scandalized expression. 

“I’ll get some, hang on,” Jun said, pausing the game and pushing himself off the nearly collapsed couch. 

“You see,” Seungkwan said, pointing a finger at Jun, “that’s a good man.”

“Thanks, man!” Seokmin called, and Jun returned with a half-hearted thumbs-up to Seokmin and Seungkwan.

Jun ambled into the kitchen and began rummaging through the cupboard. “Seokmin, I’m out of chips,” he called. “Are cookies okay?”

“Cookies are fine,” Seokmin called back. 

Jun pulled some store-bought frosted cookies from the back of the cupboard when his phone began to ring. He put the cookie box under his arm while he checked his phone. The name “Xu HaoHao” glowed on his phone screen. Jun smiled cheekily and answered the phone as he made his way back into the living room. “Y-ello?”

“Junhui?” Minghao said shyly.

“You really should start calling me ‘Jun,’” Jun replied, handing Seokmin the box of cookies and plopping down on the sinking couch. “What can I do for you, Hao?” Jun laughed a little to himself. “Did you finally decide to confess your love for me?”

Minghao was silent on the other end of the line.

Jun’s cheeky smile dropped. “Wait, are you actually? Because you are _not_ allowed to do this over phone. You’ve got to at _least_ take me out first.”

“No, no,” Minghao said quickly, “I’m just – it’s weird hearing you talk to me like this.”

“We’re friends now, Minghao,” Jun said jovially, holding the phone between his shoulder and his left ear as he picked up the game controller and unpaused the game.

“I wouldn’t go there yet,” Minghao muttered. 

“How can I help you, kiddo?” Jun asked, motioning for Seungkwan to put a frosted cookie in his mouth because his hands were full. 

“Mingyu’s gone. Seungcheol told me a couple of hours ago that nobody’s seen him since yesterday.”

“Really? Is that the guy who fought for your honor that one night in the alley?” Jun asked, his mouth full of cookie.

Minghao sighed. “Yes, that guy. And I think I might know somebody who might be involved.” Minghao explained everything that he knew about Jisoo’s mysterious friend to Jun. 

“Murder? That’s kind of terrifying,” Jun replied. 

“But the problem is, I don’t have a name. Do you know anybody who went to Central Seoul Preparatory School who might know?” Minghao struggled to remember every part of the name of Mingyu’s and Jisoo’s high school.

“Hansol goes there, but they won’t tell me anything now that I’ve left. I’ve even been replaced! Can you believe that? By some sophomore kid or something. Chan? I don’t know, something like that. They won’t even speak to me.” 

Minghao felt defeated. “Nobody?”

“Hang on,” Jun said, pausing the game again grabbing his phone to pull it away from his ear. “Seokmin, Seungkwan – do either of you guys know anybody who goes to Central Seoul Prep?”

“Central?” Seokmin asked, caught in a moment of thought. “No, sorry hyung.” 

“Wait, I might,” Seungkwan chimed in. “There’s this one guy who I voice train with – a guy named Jihoon. I think he might have gone to Central Seoul Prep. He graduated last year.”

“Great! One sec.” Jun pulled his phone back up to his ear. “Hey, I found a lead on somebody who might know the guy you’re talking about. I’ll see what I can figure out and get back to you, okay?”

Minghao breathed a sigh of relief and triumph. “Thank you, Jun.”

“Anything for you, ya cute baby bird,” Jun replied, putting the game back on and ending the call. 

Not quite sure what that meant, Minghao hesitated for a second before clicking off his phone and returning it to his back pocket.

 

Mingyu sat on the edge of a bed in some person’s house. He assumed it belonged to someone at some point because of the furniture, but there was dust all over the place, like nobody had been there in years. Mingyu had been sitting there for hours, wondering what he was going to do, what might happen to him – what might happen to his friends. Minghao. Was Minghao safe? Wonwoo said he was, but Mingyu wasn’t sure if he trusted that. 

Suddenly, the door to the bedroom opened. Mingyu looked over to see Wonwoo enter the room with Jeonghan in tow. “We’re leaving,” Wonwoo announced. 

“Are we?” Mingyu asked. He felt resigned. He knew that fighting back now would just mean Wonwoo and his gang would go after Minghao, which angered him to the point of exhaustion. Mingyu had to wait for the right time to get out of there. On top of that, Mingyu wouldn’t dare pick a fight with Yoon Jeonghan. 

Jeonghan stepped forward and Mingyu immediately went on the offensive, tensing every muscle in his body. “Don’t worry, Mingyu,” Jeonghan started, “This place will be more familiar to you than my parent’s old house. Wonwoo thought it’d be a good idea.”

_So that’s where we are_ , Mingyu thought. “Fine,” he muttered. 

Jeonghan smiled. “I like you much better when you’re being cooperative, Mingyu,” he said. Wonwoo smiled, satisfied that Mingyu was intimidated enough by Jeonghan to comply without a fight.

The three of them took a car out past the city into an older, more wooded area outside of Seoul. Mingyu was sat in the back seat, examining his surroundings as Wonwoo drove. Jeonghan sat in the back seat with him, sitting with his hands folded in his lap. For about two hours or so, they sat in perfect silence.

When they finally arrived at their destination, Mingyu felt a cold, tormentingly nostalgic twinge in his chest, knowing that he’d been to this place before. It came to him quickly – the reason this place seemed so familiar. Mingyu’s mouth became dry. _I’m going to die here._

Wonwoo and Jeonghan stepped out of the car. Jeonghan walked around and opened Mingyu’s door. “Does it look familiar, Kim Mingyu?”

Mingyu stepped out slowly and scanned the building. It was an old abandoned school building that hadn’t been used in 10 or 20 years. Asbestos in the basement or something. 

Mingyu had found himself here once before – two years ago. He was exploring the abandoned building with a friend who he was visiting there in the country. They were looking for ghosts or spirits or anything that would bring something interesting into the life of two 17-year old boys. When the two of them got separated, Mingyu found himself wandering through dark hallways. He was almost excited to be alone – able to explore this vast, mysterious place by himself for a moment. He was pulled violently out of his daydreams when he heard the sound of crying coming from one of the classrooms. 

“Please, don’t hurt me.” Mingyu heard someone whimpering from a classroom just down the hall. For a moment, Mingyu considered turning and running, but he couldn’t bring himself to do it. Carefully, he tiptoed towards the classroom. There was a wide window that looked into the room. Mingyu placed himself just next to the window and peeked around to see who was inside. He only looked in for a few moments before he watched it happen – Yoon Jeonghan snapped some poor kid’s neck with his bare hands. As soon as it happened, Mingyu turned and ran. But not before Jeonghan caught a glimpse of him. His terrified gaze, the shock – Jeonghan saw it. But Mingyu made sure that he didn’t stay long enough to ask Jeonghan whether or not he recognized him. Mingyu just ran. He ran faster than he’d ever run before. The next day, Mingyu found out that Jeonghan had dropped out of school. He wasn’t heard from after that.

Of course, Mingyu didn’t tell anyone except for Jisoo. He was too afraid. He was afraid that Jeonghan might do something to hurt him if he told anyone. Anyways, eventually people started to forget about Yoon Jeonghan, so it didn’t matter anyways. 

“I’ll take that as a yes,” Jeonghan said, snapping Mingyu out of his recollection. 

They walked up to the entrance to the school. Mingyu noticed that it was all exactly the same as the first time – all of the windows barred up with planks of lumber, the paint peeling off the walls, the overwhelming silence. Mingyu found himself reliving all of it. This time around, he wasn’t sure if he was himself in the story, or if he was the boy who came in with Yoon Jeonghan and never came out.

The lock was already broken on the front door, maybe by Wonwoo, maybe by one of the neighborhood kids who wanted to get inside. Led by Wonwoo, the three of them walked through the labyrinth of hallways and office spaces, eventually making it to the second floor of the building. Wonwoo led them to a classroom – room 206, and pulled a key out of his pocket. 

“This is it,” Wonwoo announced, sticking the key into the padlock that kept the door chained closed. 

“Wonwoo, prepared as ever. You even reserved a space for our friend,” Jeonghan observed. All of this seemed to be Wonwoo’s doing, not Jeonghan’s. Surely Jeonghan told Wonwoo about the history he and Mingyu had in the building, but Jeonghan didn’t seem to have any part in choosing the venue. 

This was made clear to Mingyu when Wonwoo opened the door to the classroom and Jeonghan stepped in front, in what seemed to be shock and alarm. 

Sitting on the floor with his back against the wall, face beaten and bruised, was Hong Jisoo. He looked up at them, quickly making eye contact with Jeonghan. The two of them stared at each other for a moment. There was as much tension as would be expected from two people with such a narrative as Jisoo and Jeonghan.

Before Jeonghan could react, Wonwoo pushed Mingyu forward into the classroom and slammed the door in Jeonghan’s face. He and Jeonghan were left in the hallway as Mingyu banged on the door from the inside. Wonwoo quickly put the padlock back on the chained door, locking Mingyu and Jisoo in the room. 

Cursing to himself, Mingyu tried to yank the door open, or off its hinges, whichever happened first. He cried out in frustration and leaned against the heavy, old, metal door. 

“Mingyu, are you okay?” Jisoo asked quietly from the other side of the room. “They didn’t hurt you, did they?”

Mingyu whipped around, remembering that Jisoo was in the room with him. He hurried over to his friend, who Mingyu quickly realized was hurt much worse than he thought. Jisoo’s arms were lying limply in his lap, covered top to bottom in harsh bruises. The side of his head was covered in dried blood that matted up his hair. Mingyu didn’t know what to say. 

Noticing Mingyu’s shock, Jisoo smiled to try and lighten the mood. “Watch out for the kid with the baseball bat. He means business,” Jisoo said in an airy voice. “You can take my word for that.” 

Mingyu looked at Jisoo with sympathetic eyes. “I’m sorry I couldn’t protect you from Jeonghan this time.”

Jisoo shook his head. “Jeonghan didn’t do this. This was the person standing next to Jeonghan, and a couple of other guys. I saw it in his eyes just now; I don’t even know if Jeonghan knew that I was here.”

_Why in the world is he defending Jeonghan?_ Mingyu thought. He must not be in his right mind right now. Surely. “We’re gonna get you out of here, okay?” Mingyu said, changing the subject. “I promise.”

“I know what you’re worried about,” Jisoo started. “I know you’re thinking about that boy. That day with Jeonghan, here in the school. But you’re stronger now. He can’t hurt you.”

“What about you?” Mingyu asked, examining Jisoo’s right arm, which seemed to be the most damaged. 

“Jeonghan won’t kill me,” Jisoo replied, flinching every once in a while when Mingyu touched an especially sore area on his arm. “He would’ve done it years ago if he wanted to, but he didn’t. I don’t know why, but I know he won’t do it.”

Mingyu sat back on his tailbone, both hands behind him. “I sure hope you’re right.”

 

Once Wonwoo had locked the padlock, Jeonghan grabbed his upper arm and dragged him a little further down the hallway. Calm Jeonghan had suddenly become compromised, and he found himself slamming Wonwoo against a wall. 

“What the hell is this?” Jeonghan questioned.

“Ah, so Hansol was right,” Wonwoo replied, throwing Jeonghan’s hand off of his arm. “You care more about Hong Jisoo than everyone thought. He saw right through you, Jeonghan.”

“I got Mingyu here. I told you, I’ll take care of it. You don’t have to involve Hong Jisoo. This was not part of the agreement.” Jeonghan whispered, boring into Wonwoo with a lethal gaze.

“You’ve got to consider your reputation, Jeonghan,” Wonwoo said, shoving Jeonghan backward to give himself some room. “It wouldn’t be very smart of me to not have insurance in such a high-risk situation, would it?” 

“You don’t need ‘insurance.’ I don’t care about what happens to Kim Mingyu. I have no reason to ruin your plans. The only person here I care about it Jisoo.” 

Wonwoo flashed a sinister smirk. “Well, then I expect everything to run smoothly then.” 

“Find somebody else,” Jeonghan said suddenly. “I quit.” 

“I’m sorry, Jeonghan, but there is nobody else. You’re the only person who Kim Mingyu is truly afraid of. You can scare him into cooperating far better than I can.” Wonwoo walked past Jeonghan down the hallway and called out over his shoulder. “So if you back out now, Hong Jisoo won’t ever make it out of here. I promise you that.”

Wonwoo turned a corner, and Jeonghan was left standing in the hallway alone.

 

Minghao stepped in the door of his cousin’s house and threw his jacket to the side. It had begun to snow a little bit outside. Minghao’s lungs hurt from running around in the cold, and he was exhausted with worry. 

For a couple of hours, Minghao spiraled downward. He felt hopeless. He felt helpless. He felt desperate. Unable to bring himself to be productive while he waited for a call from Jun, Minghao laid on his cousin’s couch and counted spots on the ceiling. He tried not to let his mind wander for fear of torturing himself, but he couldn’t bring himself to do anything but wonder. _Mingyu is strong. He’ll be okay. Mingyu is too kind. He’s going to get hurt. Mingyu is lost. He could be…_ Minghao closed his eyes tightly, brought to tears by his worries. He rolled onto his side, pressing his face into the couch so that he could cry. Even when he was alone, Minghao hated the sound of his own sobs. 

_Beep-beep. Beep-beep._

Minghao jumped at the sound of his phone combined with the feeling of the vibrations in his pocket. Minghao reached back into his pocket and pulled his phone out. _Junhui._

Minghao answered. “Hello?”

“Minghao, I was able to talk to Seungkwan’s friend from Central Seoul Prep.”

Minghao sat up on the couch and took a deep, steadying breath. He didn’t want Jun to know he’d been crying. “What did he say?”

“He knows the person you’re talking about. Everybody knew this guy. He was kind of notorious for being a really bad guy for no good reason.”

“What is this guy’s name?” Minghao asked.

“His name was Yoon Jeonghan.”

Minghao hesitated for a moment. He knew that name. He’d _just_ heard that name somewhere. “Oh my god,” Minghao murmured. _There’s no way._

“What? What is it? Do you know something about this guy?”

Minghao felt like he was going to be sick. “Nagomi Noodles isn’t open on Sundays.” Minghao played the conversation back in his head at triple speed, over and over again.

Jun paused. Minghao could hear him thinking on the other end of the line. “Wait, say again?”

“I think I met Yoon Jeonghan today,” Minghao said. _I’m an idiot. I’m an idiot. I’m an idiot._ Minghao couldn’t bear it anymore and stood to his feet. “I talked to him. He was right there. I missed my chance. I _let him go_.” Minghao’s voice shook with rage and anxiety, both emotions melding in the pit of his chest to form a vat of nervous energy that pulsed through his body. 

“Minghao, calm down,” Jun said slowly. “Just listen to me. Can you do that?”

“One second.” Minghao walked over to the wall and, with a balled fist, hit it hard enough to leave a mark. “Okay… Now I think I can…”

“Tell your friend Seungcheol the name of this guy. You guys will figure it out. But don’t you go withdrawing on me, understood? You’ve got to stay calm.”

Jun sounded like Minghao’s older brother. Something inside of Minghao appreciated that. “Okay. Thank you, Jun.”

“Call me if you need anything else, little Hao.” And Jun hung up.

“Yoon Jeonghan.” Minghao said the name out loud to himself. He pictured the guy’s face in his mind. Suddenly, just for a moment, Minghao felt at ease. _Mingyu could take that guy._


	10. Little Brother

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Minghao continues to try and find a way to help Mingyu. Mingyu finally discovers why Wonwoo does the things that he does. Maybe there's more to Jeonghan's past than just his violent tendencies.

“He has your phone number?” Seungcheol asked, pacing around Minghao’s living room. “But he hasn’t contacted you or anything? Why would he want your number? Why would he tell you what his _name_ was if he knew you were looking for him? This guy is basically a murderer on the run. I don’t get it.”

“I don’t know,” Minghao replied. He was laying horizontally on the couch, staring at the ceiling as Seungcheol paced. “And hyung, would you mind not pacing so much? You’re making me nervous.”

Seungcheol placed both hands on the back of the couch and sighed. “I just want to know more about this guy. And he has your number. We’re so close, but at the same time, until he decides to give you a call, we’re so far off.”

Minghao sat up on the couch. “Wait, so we just have for him to call? Is that all we can do?”

“Unless you can think of another way to find him,” Seungcheol answered. 

Minghao pulled his knees up to his chest and rested his chin on top of them. “Hyung, since he _did_ tell me what his name was, you don’t think that he wasn’t the person who broke into Jisoo’s house, do you?” Minghao looked up at Seungcheol, who was looking back with a dubious gaze.

“Who else could it have been? And the fact that Mingyu is gone too, and that he, Mingyu, and Jisoo all have a past with each other? This has to be the guy. I mean, you literally saw him _walking out of Jisoo’s restaurant_ for goodness sake.”

“I know, but this is what was worried about from the start,” Minghao started. “What if we’re wrong? What if we’re wrong and we’re losing time? What if we’re wrong and Mingyu’s being carted off to god knows where, and we’re going to be too late to do anything because I was wrong about this?” Minghao had to force himself to steady his breath. He was trembling again. Lately, he’d found himself losing his temper much more often. He wasn’t sure if this was a step forward or a step backward, but he didn’t like it either way.

Seungcheol waited for a moment. He could sense that Minghao needed a second to calm down, so he offered it to him. Seungcheol just leaned on the back of the couch, resting on his forearms. 

Minghao ran a hand through his hair in an attempt to collect himself. “I finally had a best friend, hyung. Mingyu was helping me to be better, and I was finally almost there. I felt like I was just on the verge of figuring it out. But if he’s not here anymore… I don’t know what I’m going to do.” Minghao was acutely aware of how selfish he sounded.

Seungcheol walked around to the front of the couch and sat down next to Minghao. Minghao glanced up at him with sorrowful eyes, and Seungcheol placed a hand on his shoulder. “Mingyu knows that. That’s why he’s going to be okay. Mingyu isn’t going to leave you all on your own, you hear me? I’d bet my life on that.”

Minghao and Seungcheol waited for a call. Right now, it was all that they could do.

 

It was getting to be pretty late in the evening now. Jisoo had fallen in and out of sleep a lot pretty much since Mingyu had gotten there, and Mingyu was worried about him. Jisoo could barely stay awake for more than 20 or 30 minutes. Mingyu figured it had something to do with that nasty blow to the head he took from Lee Chan, the kid who Mingyu saw lurking around the hallways with a baseball bat. 

Mingyu walked along the front of the room, running his hand gently along the old blackboard. He was sick of waiting. He hadn’t see Wonwoo or Jeonghan in hours, and he wanted to know what their next move was. 

Then, as if on cue, Mingyu heard chains rattle on the doorknob. Wonwoo entered the classroom casually, taking his time. After closing the door behind him, he turned to Mingyu and placed his hands in his pockets. “How are you doing, Mingyu?”

Mingyu didn’t say anything. He just stared, seething at the thought of functioning according to Wonwoo’s schedule. 

Wonwoo stepped forward and glanced over, suddenly noticing that Jisoo was sleeping exactly where he’d been all day. “Is he still alive?”

Mingyu walked away from the backboard toward Jisoo. Still without speaking, Mingyu placed himself between Wonwoo and Jisoo, making sure to maintain steady eye-contact with Wonwoo. 

“Relax, I’m not here to hurt anybody,” Wonwoo scoffed. “I just came to fill you in on a few things. Surely, you’re ready to know why you’re here, right?”

“Born ready,” Mingyu replied tersely.

“Great,” Wonwoo said, pulling one of the old desk chairs towards himself and sitting backwards in it. “Take a seat.”

Mingyu walked over to a desk and pulled the chair out. He placed it in front of Wonwoo and sat down, both hands resting on his knees, braced for anything. 

“You’re here because of Minghao, Mingyu,” Wonwoo started, “because Minghao made a mistake. And it’s going to cost him. How much do you know about your friend Xu Minghao, Mingyu?”

“Enough,” Mingyu replied. “Minghao’s past has nothing to do with me, and I don’t care to convict him for it. Whatever he doesn’t tell me is his business.” His talk was big, but Mingyu did find his mind reeling. In that moment, Mingyu realizing that he knew less about Minghao’s past than he realized. _What could Minghao have done to cross this guy?_

“Well, aren’t you just golden-hearted? Noble Mingyu, always seeing past everyone’s faults,” Wonwoo mocked. “Would you still say that if I told you Minghao is just as much as a murderer as your friend Yoon Jeonghan?”

Mingyu’s breath caught in his throat. “I don’t believe you,” he challenged. 

“My little brother was 16 years old when he died,” Wonwoo growled, rage beginning to build up in his voice. “Every single day he’d come home from school with a black eye or a bloody nose. Eventually, my little brother wouldn’t even leave his room to go to school – wouldn’t speak, wouldn’t eat. I only saw him once or twice a day when our father would force him to go to school for fear of him being kicked out. I watched him deteriorate right in front of me. Every single day – _every single goddamn day_ – I would worry that my little brother wouldn’t be there when I got home, or worse – that he would be there lying next to a pill bottle or something else. Do you know what it’s like to go day by day wondering if your brother is going to be alive when you got home?” Wonwoo’s voice had risen to a shout now, loud enough to wake up Jisoo, who was watching in terror from the corner of the room.

Every atom in Mingyu’s body screamed for him to keep his mouth shut, but Mingyu couldn’t contain his resentment any longer. “What does that have to do with Minghao?”

Suddenly, Wonwoo stood to his feet and threw the desk chair aside. Now looming over Mingyu, who was still sitting in the chair, Wonwoo said in a low voice, “I begged him to tell me who was doing it to him, but he wouldn’t tell me. He wouldn’t even say a word to me. Nobody could help him, not even me.” Wonwoo leaned in closer and placed a hand on the back of Mingyu’s chair. “And then, the one time my little brother needed help the most, your Xu Minghao turned his back on him.”

“How?” Mingyu murmured, his eyes locked on Wonwoo.

“I was working at a coffee shop downtown that day. I remember having to walk home late and hearing somebody screaming – it was my little brother. I was walking on the bridge and the screaming was coming from below me, so I looked down. He was running. Four or five guys were running after him, yelling. I called out to him, but he was too far away to hear me. Then I saw it – Minghao. Poor, defenseless little Xu Minghao was walking the opposite direction on the sidewalk. I saw my little brother run up to him. He begged him. He held onto Minghao’s shirt and begged him for help, but Minghao ran. He ran away. He left my little brother alone.

“By the time I got down to where my brother was, the four boys had run off. He was knocked unconscious, laying on the ground in a puddle of his own blood. I dragged him back home and stayed next to him until he woke up. The next morning, I woke up to the sound of my mother screaming.” Tears of anger began to well up in Wonwoo’s eyes. “She found my brother in the bathroom. My mother found her son–” Wonwoo’s voice caught in his throat. He didn’t drop eye contact with Mingyu, who was now watching as tears rolled down Wonwoo’s cheeks.

“Xu Minghao could’ve saved him. He could’ve done something so that my brother wasn’t alone,” Wonwoo croaked. “But he didn’t. And now my brother is gone, and Minghao is still here.”

Mingyu couldn’t bear it any longer. He dropped his gaze and put his face in his hands. Wonwoo released the back of Mingyu’s chair stepped backward, putting space between Mingyu and himself.

“So, now… I’m going to make sure that Minghao knows what it feels like to lose someone he loves,” Wonwoo uttered quietly. “It’s a pain worse than death, after all.”

Mingyu sat with his head in his hands. Of course, he understood why Minghao ran. Minghao could barely walk home from school without being beaten up and abused. But, somehow, Mingyu’s heart still ached for Wonwoo. He understood that Wonwoo needed someone to blame. He understood that Wonwoo regrets not being able to protect his little brother. He understood all of it now.

“So,” Wonwoo continued, making his way towards to door, “unless you want me to revert to plan B – making sure Xu Minghao doesn’t live to make a mistake like that again – you’re going to do something for me.”

Mingyu looked up at Wonwoo.

Wonwoo placed a hand on the doorknob. “You’re going to come with me to the bridge, and Minghao is going to watch you jump.” And with that, Wonwoo left. 

 

Jeonghan sat on the rusty swing set behind the school building. The area had become completely overgrown with foliage, and the only thing lighting up the little swing set was a single street lamp a little ways away. His mind wandered back to two years ago – his last year of high school. That was the year he left. He remembered the days leading up to it like they’d just happened. 

Jeonghan was sick. Nobody knew it because he didn’t look sick, but he was very sick. It was a sort of brain disease – a cousin of schizophrenia is what the doctor told him, except more so degenerative. Besides the fact that Jeonghan didn’t appreciate anyone anthropomorphizing his disease, Jeonghan was distraught when he found out that he probably wouldn’t live past the age of 21 or 22. 

Jisoo came to Korea to live with his mom after something happened with his father. Jisoo didn’t talk about it much because it hurt, but coming to Korea was never his intention. For a short time, Jisoo didn’t think he had the strength to get through all of it. Then, Yoon Jeonghan came around. Yoon Jeonghan became his safe space. 

“Jeonghan.”

Jeonghan glanced up from the ground and steadied the swing with the heels of his feet. It was Wonwoo.

“It’s about time we did this,” Wonwoo said. “Tomorrow, we’re going to the bridge. Get some sleep.”

Jeonghan nodded. Wonwoo gave him a look, noticing that Jeonghan had become slightly more complacent since their last interaction in the hallway. Without saying anything, Wonwoo walked back to the school.

Jeonghan watched him go with wary eyes. Once Wonwoo had gone out of sight, Jeonghan pulled out his cell phone and entered his contacts. _Xu Minghao._

 

It was about 10 pm. Seungcheol had fallen asleep in the lounger in Minghao’s cousin’s living room. Minghao, who wasn’t able to sleep, tried everything to make himself feel useful while they waited. He drew out a timeline in an old notebook. He tried to draw Yoon Jeonghan’s face as best as he remembered. He even considered going back to Nagomi Noodles. He wasn’t sure what he’d find there, but Minghao was ready to do anything to feel like he was getting somewhere. He sat on the living room floor with his notebook in front of him, his mind reeling, his blood pumping, his heart racing. 

Then, suddenly, Minghao heard the text notification sound from the kitchen. Minghao had turned up the volume to max volume to assure that he wouldn’t miss a text or call. The sound seemed to echo through the quiet house, waking up Seungcheol and causing Minghao to jump to his feet. Minghao dashed into the kitchen and yanked his cell phone off the charger.

 

Unknown Number: West Boeun Elementary. Mingyu is here. Get here quickly.

 

Minghao felt dizzy. He wasn’t sure if it was from relief or fear, but Minghao didn’t give himself any time to process it either way. Without a second thought, Minghao ran to grab his coat.

Seungcheol ran to meet Minghao at the door. “What’s going on? Is it him?” Seungcheol followed suit and put in his coat and shoes. 

“Put West Boeun Elementary into your GPS. That’s where Mingyu is.”

Seungcheol looked at Minghao with raised eyebrows. “Boeun? That’s almost two hours away by car, Minghao. And the subway doesn’t run out there.”

“We can take my cousin’s car,” Minghao replied, running across the living room back into the kitchen, where he rummaged through a drawer for his cousin’s keys. Minghao pulled the car keys from the drawer and trotted back over to Seungcheol. “You can drive, right?” he asked, tossing Seungcheol the keys. 

“I mean… I guess I’ve driven a couple of times. I can try.”

Minghao pulled out his phone and dialed Jun’s number. He knew that he and Seungcheol would need all the help they could get. 

Jun answered. He sounded like he’d just woken up. “Hello?

“Jun, Mingyu is in Boeun. Will you come with us? We might need your help.”

“Minghao,” Jun groaned, “you woke me up from a peaceful sleep just to ask me if I’ll join your rescue party, thereby risking my own life? Is that what this is?”

“After the things you put me through? It’s the least you can do,” Minghao replied. “Plus, Seungcheol’s driving. You’re gonna want to be a part of that.”

Minghao heard Jun sigh on the other end of the line. “Pick me up at the bus stop.”

 

After sending the text message, Jeonghan stood up from the swing set and put his hands in his pockets. _Threatening Jisoo was a critical mistake,_ Jeonghan thought to himself, breathing into the cold, nighttime air. _Get ready for a fight, Jeon Wonwoo._


	11. I'm Sorry

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Okay, so chapters may take a little longer now since things are picking up with college, but I will do the best I can to get these chapters out to you quick!
> 
> This chapter involves sadness. I apologize in advance. It had to happen.

“So, wait, who am I picking up at the bus stop?” Seungcheol asked, gripping the steering wheel for dear life. It’d been a while since he’d done this. 

“Jun,” Minghao answered, holding onto the handle above his head, trying not to look too terrified in order to preserve Seungcheol’s confidence.

“Jun…” Seungcheol’s eyes went wide and he stared at Minghao. “Isn’t that one of the guys who beat you up in the alley?!”

“EYES ON THE ROAD, HYUNG!”

Seungcheol looked forward just in enough time to dodge oncoming traffic coming at him on the main street. He swerved to miss the car whose lane he’d just entered and fell back against the back of the driver’s seat. For a moment, he sat in shock. 

“You’re okay. It’s okay. Breathe,” Minghao advised, one hand hovering over the wheel. “Just keep looking forward. There’s barely anybody on the road. You’re fine.”

“Minghao, you cannot tell me that you’re bringing this person along with us,” Seungcheol said, trying to keep his voice steady and firm despite his fear of wrecking the car. “He almost killed you.”

“I trust him,” Minghao said shyly. 

“Why the _hell_ would you trust this person?”

“There he is! Stop the car!” 

Seungcheol slammed on his brakes, screeching to a halt right in front of a nearly empty bus stop. Minghao had to catch himself with outstretched hands to keep from bashing his skull on the dashboard of the car. 

Jun stood up from the bench with wide eyes, laughing a little. Minghao rolled down the passenger side window and hung out of it for a moment. “We’re here,” he muttered. Minghao sounded like he was about to be sick.

Jun looked into the drivers seat and saw Seungcheol. He waved awkwardly at Seungcheol then glared back at Minghao. Through gritted teeth, Jun whispered. “Minghao, I punched that guy in the face a couple months ago.”

“Well, then I hope you’re good at conflict management,” Minghao replied, pulling his head and shoulders back into the car.

Jun huffed and opened the door to the back seat of the car. As he climbed in clumsily, he tried to chat to break up the tension. “Hey! How are things, my friends? Are we ready for a rescue mission?”

Seungcheol violently pulled on the lever to put the car in drive and pressed down hard on the gas pedal, sending Junhui tumbling over in the back seat.

“Right, fair enough…” Jun muttered, sitting up and quickly buckling his seat belt. 

 

Jeonghan knew that Wonwoo would be asleep in the teacher’s lounge on one of the couches. And wherever Wonwoo was, that key went with him. 

It wasn’t hard to get the key off him. Jeonghan was very good at being quiet, and even better at going unnoticed. He’d spent most of his life perfecting that skill. Within minutes, Jeonghan was able to locate the key in Wonwoo’s front right pocket and take it. 

_Room 206. Room 206._ Jeonghan walked down a dark, silent hallway. The only sounds that could be heard were the sounds of his own footsteps echoing off the walls. He was careful to walk quietly, unsure who else could be on guard at this time. 

_There._ Jeonghan saw the room. He walked up to the door, which was still chained closed, and pulled out Wonwoo’s key. It took him a moment to finagle the key in the lock since both the key and the lock seemed to be old and rusted, but he was eventually able to unlatch the padlock, releasing the chains from the door. 

Just as Jeonghan opened the door towards himself, he felt it slam against him, throwing him backward a bit. Within moments, Mingyu had burst through the door and slammed Jeonghan against the adjacent wall, holding him there with his forearm against Jeonghan’s neck.

“I’m not scared of you,” Mingyu said in a low, quiet voice.

“Mingyu,” Jeonghan hissed, holding onto Mingyu’s arm so he didn’t crush his windpipe, “I’m trying to help you. I’m on your side.”

“It’s too late for excuses,” Mingyu replied.

Mingyu’s forearm was cutting off blood circulation to his brain. “ _Mingyu, we do not have time for this_ ,” Jeonghan said quickly. Effortlessly, Jeonghan shot a few jabs to Mingyu’s torso – right where it hurt – immobilizing him for long enough to smack him around a bit. Just enough to get Mingyu’s attention. 

After a couple of good hits, Jeonghan stepped back to give Mingyu some space. “Mingyu, listen to me. Wonwoo got cocky and involved somebody I care about. That’s why I’m helping you.”

Mingyu scoffed, still lingering in a fighting posture with a combative look in his eye. “Yoon Jeonghan cares about somebody?”

“Shut up.”

“Who is it?”

Jeonghan hesitated. “Jisoo,” he murmured.

“That’s bullshit,” Mingyu shot back.

“I always cared about Jisoo.”

Mingyu was quieted by Jeonghan’s tone. He sounded desperate – as if he’d wanted to say those words for a very long time.

“So, are you going to let me get you and Jisoo out of here or not?” Jeonghan questioned, growing more and more impatient by the moment. 

“Fine,” Mingyu replied, still unconvinced, but knowing this was his only chance at both his and Jisoo’s survival. “You stay here, and I’ll get Jisoo.”

 

Mingyu figured that Jisoo was going to have trouble walking, so he cut out the middle man entirely and decided to just put Jisoo on his back. It’d be faster than Jisoo using Mingyu as a crutch, and the guy was light as a feather anyways. Jeonghan led them down the hallway in the point position, checking around every corner for either of those two kids Wonwoo had working for him. Neither of them were in the teacher’s lounge with Wonwoo, so either they had gone home, were sleeping somewhere else, or they were wandering around. Jeonghan prayed that their parents had called them home for dinner or something. 

“Yoon Jeonghan.”

_Of course they didn’t._ Jeonghan thought bitterly as he turned to see a young kid standing behind them. Jeonghan knew this kid. He was a lowerclassman at his high school years ago. “Remind me of your name again,” Jeonghan said, stepping in front of Mingyu and Jisoo. 

“Hansol,” the kid replied. “What’s going on here?”

“Wonwoo told me to get the sick kid downstairs. The med kit is down there. If this guy’s dead, then something messes up with his plan, I don’t know. You shouldn’t be questioning the big kids, Hansol.” Jeonghan replied in a patronizingly sweet voice.

“‘The sick kid?’” Hansol repeated, a smirk rising up on his face. “Don’t you think you’re overcompensating a little bit? I thought that guy was the love of your life,” Hansol answered back.

Jeonghan held his calm expression. “Go on ahead, my friend,” Jeonghan said to Mingyu. “I’d like to have a conversation with Hansol, if that’s alright.”

Hansol put both hands up in the air. “Hey now, I never said I didn’t trust you,” he hedged. “You go on about your business. I’m not stopping you.”

Jeonghan smiled kindly. It made Mingyu’s skin crawl. “I’m glad you see it my way, Hansol,” Jeonghan replied.

Mingyu was amazed at the effect Jeonghan had. He wasn’t immune to it himself. Something about Jeonghan just seemed like a poisonous flower – easy on the eyes, but could kill you instantly. It was eerie in an ironic way. And everyone around here knew it. For once, it worked to Mingyu’s advantage.

So Jeonghan and Mingyu turned to leave, Jisoo still hanging off Mingyu’s back. He was barely even awake for any of it. 

Once they were out of sight, Hansol pulled out his phone and texted “Lee Chan.”

 

Choi Hansol: Jeonghan is trying to get them out. They’re on the left wing second floor. Handle it.

 

Jeonghan struggled to remember where the staircase was. This school was so goddamn huge that he felt like he was trapped in a maze. He opened a door to what he thought might be the staircase, but it turned out to be an old craft room. 

“Damn,” Jeonghan muttered. 

Suddenly, Jeonghan heard Mingyu cry out in pain from behind him, followed by a thud. Jeonghan swung around in time to see Mingyu on the floor holding his shin, Jisoo knocked off of his back completely, scrambling to try and stand, and Lee Chan coming at him with a baseball bat. 

Jeonghan ducked out of the way just before the bat made contact with his face. Staying low, he tackled Chan to the ground, giving Jisoo enough time to stumble to his feet and help Mingyu up off of the floor. 

Jeonghan held the baseball bat under the kid’s chin. The kid, Lee Chan, grappled with Jeonghan for the bat, a somewhat fearful look in his eyes. _Don’t let yourself lose it, Yoon Jeonghan,_ Jeonghan thought to himself. _Don’t you lose yourself._ The voice in his head was the voice of one of his old doctors. Jeonghan released his grip, letting Chan scramble out from beneath him. 

“Get out of here,” Jeonghan said to the kid. 

Lee Chan looked at Jeonghan for a moment. “He was my best friend– Wonwoo’s brother,” he said quietly. “Wonwoo told me I was helping to make things right.”

“You can’t trust Wonwoo,” Jeonghan said calmly, holding his hands out in front of him and keeping a fair distance. 

Mingyu and Jisoo had made it a little further down the hall. “Yoon Jeonghan!” Mingyu called, standing on one leg with one hand on the wall for balance. 

Jeonghan looked back at Mingyu and then quickly back to Chan. “What’s your name?”

“Lee Chan.”

“Lee Chan,” Jeonghan repeated, “give me the bat, okay? You can leave. You don’t have to do what Wonwoo says.”

Chan hesitated, staring at Jeonghan with an unreadable expression. 

“You don’t have to be like him,” Jeonghan continued. “Your best friend would’ve never wanted this for either of you. So, just give me the bat.”

Jeonghan knew very well how Wonwoo functioned. He made promises. He catered to the most dangerous, vulnerable parts of you, and he exploited them. Jeonghan could see he’d just done the same to this kid, who couldn’t have been more than 16. 

Finally, Lee Chan surrendered the baseball bat to Jeonghan. Jeonghan took it slowly, taking necessary precaution. “Thank you, Lee Chan.”

“Get out fast,” Chan said. “Hansol will have told Wonwoo what you’re doing by now.”

“Jeonghan, let’s go! The stairs are just over here!” Mingyu called.

Jeonghan turned and ran after Mingyu, who was hopping ahead of Jisoo. Jisoo held onto the back of Mingyu’s shirt, still dizzy and trying to steady himself. As they approached the end of the hallway, a sound echoed through the school. All three boys stopped in their tracks and listened closely where they stood. It was the sound of someone coming up the stairs. Whoever it was, they were running. 

“Go back, go back, go back,” Mingyu hissed, turning Jisoo around by his shoulders. Mingyu shoved Jisoo into Jeonghan, who’d just reached them at the end of the hall. Jeonghan pulled Jisoo aside and handed Mingyu the baseball bat. 

“Why’d you give me this?” Mingyu asked. 

“You’re going to need it more than I will,” Jeonghan replied, opening the door to a classroom and motioning for Jisoo to go inside.

“Excuse me, I’ll have you know I am a blackbelt in taekwond–” Mingyu was cut off by somebody putting him in a choke hold from behind. It was Hansol, who’d made his way up the stairs and was able to reach Mingyu first. Hansol hung on Mingyu, holding him in a firm headlock for such a lanky person. Before Jeonghan had time to react, Mingyu slammed Hansol into the wall with his whole body. Mingyu was able to shake him off easily after that. 

“Hansol, stop!” yelled Lee Chan, who was jogging towards them. “Hyung, this isn’t right.”

“Damn right it isn’t,” announced a deep voice from the staircase. It was Wonwoo, who had ambled up the stairs in enough time to see Hansol scrambling off of the floor and away from Mingyu. Lee Chan took a few steps backward, as if ready to take off at any moment. 

“Yoon Jeonghan, what is all of this?” Wonwoo asked, his voice calm, even friendly. “I thought you understood my request.” He glanced at Jisoo, who was hovering just behind Jeonghan. “And the consequences.”

Without waiting for anyone to make an appeal, Mingyu made an executive decision to take matters into his own hands. Brandishing the baseball bat, Mingyu lunged at Wonwoo, but even though Mingyu was stronger, Wonwoo was quicker. Wonwoo caught the bat as Mingyu swung it at his body, twisting it and giving himself enough leverage to yank the bat out of Mingyu’s hands. Wonwoo turned the bat back on Mingyu, who fell backward as he dodged Wonwoo’s swing at his head. 

_Why did I let Mingyu have the bat?_ Jeonghan thought to himself, trying to rally Jisoo into a classroom while Wonwoo was occupied.

_Why the hell did Jeonghan give me the bat?_ Mingyu asked himself, narrowly scrambling out of the way as Wonwoo continued to come back at him with the baseball bat.

Chan stared helplessly, every question of allegiance running through his head at once. He was snapped out of his daze by Hansol grabbing him by the arm.

“What are you doing?” Hansol asked. “Help us!”

Chan just stared with devastated eyes and shook his head at Hansol. “This is wrong,” he murmured. “He would never have wanted this, Hansol.”

Hansol was shocked by the tone of Chan’s voice. “Fine, go home then,” he blurted out, turning away from Chan and running back into the chaos and leaving Chan stunned by his convictions. Finally, Chan swallowed his pride and ran past them down the stairs and to the exit. He ran out of the building and oriented himself towards the town. Part of him wished he’d done more to help, but another part of him knew that, sometimes, you have no choice but to run. And so he ran. 

Jeonghan had managed to remove Jisoo from the action and run back out just in time to be tackled to the ground by Hansol. The two of them wrestled for a few moments, Hansol throwing hits and Jeonghan trying to shake him off. Suddenly, Jeonghan watched as Jisoo grabbed Hansol by his shoulders. With all of his might, Jisoo pulled Hansol off of Jeonghan, knocking him to the side and stumbling to stay on his feet. 

At the same time, Jeonghan saw Wonwoo get a good hit on Mingyu’s torso, causing him to double over onto the ground. Once Wonwoo had incapacitated Mingyu, he set his eyes on Jeonghan. Jeonghan scrambled to his feet just in time to dodge the baseball bat that was being swung at his head.

Completely unaware of what to do in a fight, Jisoo tried to get a hold of Hansol’s hands before he could land a punch, but Hansol knew what he was doing. Hansol crouched into a linebacker position and slammed Jisoo against a wall, causing Jisoo to become disoriented.

As Jeonghan grappled with Wonwoo, Mingyu tried to push himself to his feet, using the wall to hoist himself up. He noticed that Hansol gotten an upper hand on Jisoo, and Mingyu’s fighting instinct went into full gear. Completely forgetting about the hit he’d sustained from Wonwoo, Mingyu rushed over to drag Hansol off Jisoo. Mingyu held Hansol’s arms behind his back, tightly this time so to not let him get away again. 

Wonwoo pushed Jeonghan close and closer to the end of the hall, Jeonghan’s back towards the staircase. Jeonghan was unaware of the fact that Wonwoo had positioned him right at the edge of the flight of stairs. Wonwoo reared back with the bat, ready to swing at Jeonghan again. Jeonghan braced himself, both arms in front of his face. As Wonwoo went to strike forward with the bat, he felt resistance, as if someone had caught the bat from behind him on the backswing. It was Jisoo, who’d managed to yank the bat out of Wonwoo’s hands from behind. Wonwoo spun around and, without a second thought, clocked Jisoo hard across his cheek, knocking him to the side. 

Jeonghan moved forward to cut Wonwoo off, but before Jeonghan was able to make a move, Wonwoo had already snatched the bat up and swung it around at Jeonghan. The swing was low, hitting Jeonghan directly in the center of his chest.

“Jeonghan, help Jisoo!” Mingyu yelled, still holding onto Hansol.

Jeonghan had to take a moment to recollect himself before he would be alert to his surroundings again. But Jeonghan took just a moment too long. 

Wonwoo dragged Jisoo to the edge of the stairs, one hand gripped firmly around Jisoo’s shoulder and the other clinging to the railing at the beginning of the staircase. In one swift move, Wonwoo slammed Jisoo’s head into the side of the wall, creating a horrible sound that echoed through the halls. Then, without hesitation or remorse, Wonwoo pushed him backward down the steep flight of stairs. 

“Shit,” Mingyu breathed, tossing Hansol to the side and dashing to the staircase to try and help Jisoo. But Wonwoo intercepted him, stopping Mingyu with a strong hand before he could make it to the staircase. In his hands, Wonwoo held the bat, positioned inches from Mingyu’s face. “It’s over, Kim Mingyu.”

"Jisoo!" Mingyu screamed, his heart racing. There was silence. No response. Mingyu froze where he stood, his eyes still on the staircase where Jisoo fell. Jeonghan was staring too, still sitting on the floor, his face resigned to grief and shock.

“The longer you fight this, the more people are going to get hurt,” Wonwoo warned. “Make your choice.”

Mingyu couldn’t bring himself to fight anymore. He just stared in front of him, his heart aching, his knees trembling with anger and fear. Wonwoo had won. Jisoo was gone. He was going to have to jump. _Jisoo, I’m sorry I couldn’t protect you. Seungcheol, I’m sorry I couldn’t fight anymore._ Mingyu swallowed hard, trying to keep from breaking down in front of Wonwoo and Hansol. _Minghao, I’m sorry I couldn’t get back to you._


	12. Before I Go

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Jeonghan finally reveals the truth about him and Jisoo. Minghao, Seungcheol, and Jun finally make it to Boeun, maybe moments too late. Mingyu realizes that he's out of options.

At the beginning of high school, Jisoo and Jeonghan leaned on each other as much as any two people could. There were times when Jisoo wouldn’t have gotten through the night without Yoon Jeonghan holding him on the phone, calming him down. So when Jeonghan found out that he was sick, he didn’t know if Jisoo would be able to handle it once he wasn’t there anymore. Jeonghan always knew that this codependence was dangerous, and he always told himself that he’d do something about it before it got too bad. But he knew that Jisoo relied on him, and he couldn’t bring himself to put distance between them. After all, Jeonghan relied on Jisoo too. 

Their sophomore year, Jeonghan began to really think about the fact that Jisoo was going to lose him one day. He started out by distancing himself from Jisoo as best as he could, and he did it successfully. But the problem was: Jisoo was still alone. In the end, Jeonghan knew that Jisoo needed someone who could help him get stronger until he could walk on his own two feet again. 

Then, Jeonghan noticed something. The more standoffish Jeonghan was towards Jisoo, the more protective people became. People like Mingyu. When Jeonghan would snap at Jisoo and shove Jisoo aside, people would come to his rescue. It was then that Jeonghan realized what his strategy would be. 

Things got bad Jeonghan’s senior year. He could barely tell nightmares from reality anymore, and the hallucinations were getting worse. Jeonghan didn’t even remember how he got to Boeun, but the next thing he knew, that boy was lying on the classroom floor in front of him. Jeonghan recognized him immediately. This kid was in a street gang that Jeonghan had made angry. And Mingyu saw it. Damn, Mingyu saw it all happen. _It all happened. It did. It actually did. How did this happen?_ Jeonghan’s father knew, after that, they had to leave. Jeonghan had to get help from somebody. So he and his family left Seoul, and, after finding a really good doctor in China, Jeonghan was able to keep my mind under control better. Because of the treatment, Jeonghan was promised a few more years. He probably still wouldn’t live past 25, but at least he didn’t see dead people anymore.

 

Mingyu let Wonwoo and Hansol drag Jeonghan and himself back to the classroom without a fight. Wonwoo got Jeonghan’s phone off him right before he shoved him through the door and, without a word, slammed it behind him. Mingyu and Jeonghan were alone again, back to square one.

Mingyu wandered over to the center of the floor and sat down. His shin was still bruised from the hit he took from Chan, so it took him a moment to get down. “He’s not going to let it wait until morning anymore,” he murmured to Jeonghan, who had ambled over to the spot where Jisoo had been sitting all that time. Jeonghan turned towards the center of the room and slid down the wall into a sitting position. 

Mingyu didn’t like the look in Jeonghan’s eyes. It was like something was broken inside of him. He was looking forward, not at anything in particular. The grief had faded away and there didn’t seem to be any energy left in him. He was fading quickly. He seemed defeated. Mingyu though that Yoon Jeonghan could never be defeated. “Yoon Jeonghan, I have a question.”

Jeonghan didn't even glance up at Mingyu.

“Yoon Jeonghan, look at me,” Mingyu said, his voice seated in desperation.

Finally, Jeonghan’s eyes flicked towards Mingyu, the rest of his body still motionless. “What?” Jeonghan murmured, his voice barely audible.

“Wonwoo isn’t going to let this wait any longer. So, before I jump, I want to know something.” 

“What?” 

“Why did you hurt Jisoo all those times in high school if you cared so much about him?” 

Jeonghan’s eyes were glazed over with numbness. “Because he depended too much on me. My brain doesn’t function quite right. I’d hurt people – bad people. Dangerous people who hold grudges. Jisoo couldn’t get involved in that. I needed him to find someone else to lean on, because I knew I was going to be taken away or was going to die or something else. I was really sick, and I couldn’t tell him. It started out with just trying to turn my back on him, and even though it would’ve lessened the collateral damage when I was gone, he was still alone. Then, I realized, when I became a villain, people began to protect him more. I became a villain and Jisoo became surrounded by superheroes ready to come to his rescue – people like you.” 

Mingyu was silent for a moment. “Okay, I get where you’re coming from, and I don’t mean to kick you while you’re down or anything, but you do understand how problematic your strategy was, right?”

Jeonghan breathed sharply. “I do now. And now Jisoo is gone and I never got the chance to ask for his forgiveness.” His confession sounded like a plea for something.

Mingyu pulled back a bit. There was a better time and place to tell Jeonghan about honesty and communication. “I’m sorry that this happened.”

Jeonghan’s voice was breaking now. “I just wanted him to be okay. That’s what I wanted. I just wanted people to protect him when I was gone.”

Mingyu looked through a sliver between the crooked strips of wood covering the window. He hoped that, when he was gone, Minghao would have somebody to protect him too.

 

Wonwoo met Hansol at the base of the stairs. “Did that fall do it?” Wonwoo asked as Hansol trotted towards him.

Wonwoo rubbed his hands together and on his pants, as if trying to remove a residue from them. His hands were stained a reddish tint like blood. “Yup, nothing left to worry about.” 

Wonwoo was scrolling through Jeonghan’s phone as he spoke. “Great,” he replied. Smiling, Wonwoo continued, “It looks like Jeonghan called in reinforcements to help him with his breakout scheme.”

Hansol raised an eyebrow. “Is this good news?”

“This search party is being led by our Xu Minghao, it looks like.” Wonwoo scoffed. “This works perfectly.

“When did he send the message?”

“About an hour ago,” Wonwoo answered. “They’ll be about 45 minutes out by now.”

“Will they pass the bridge on the way in?” Hansol asked.

“They sure will.” Wonwoo clicked the power button on the phone. “Also, would you stop asking questions? This is going to work out fine, Hansol.”

Hansol shrugged. “I believe you, hyung. I’m just trying to get a feeling for your plot line in this grand narrative of yours. So, am I staying here when it hits the fan?”

“Since Chan ran off, I need you to stay here and make sure Jeonghan doesn’t go anywhere once we’ve gone to the bridge. Besides, if things go bad, I’m fairly certain that I can handle Xu Minghao alone.”

“How will Minghao know that Mingyu’s at the bridge?”

Wonwoo laughed a little to himself, as if Hansol was asking just the right questions. “I believe a note is usually traditional for these sorts of things, right? I’m very creative. I’ll come up with something heartbreaking for our Minghao. ‘You didn’t see I was suffering’ and all that. I’ll get Mingyu to write it up and we’re golden.”

Hansol smirked, impressed with how much Wonwoo had thought all of this through. “You’re going to blame Xu Minghao in the suicide note? That’ll definitely kill him. Both of them. That’s cruel, Jeon Wonwoo.”

“That’s shrewdness, Choi Hansol,” Wonwoo shot back, “something you seem to be catching onto quickly.”

“You flatter me, hyung. But I do agree, it’s just a matter of time before I’ve got you outwitted as well.”

Wonwoo’s pleased smile dropped, revealing his signature glare. “I wouldn’t go that far just yet.”

 

Jun had fallen asleep in the back of Minghao’s cousin’s SUV as they drove through the woods and little towns leading into Boeun. The scenery was rural and seemed stuck further back in time than Seoul. It almost hypnotized you into believing you’d been transported to an entirely different universe altogether. 

Seungcheol listened to the GSP on his cellphone through earbuds, the volume up as loud as it would go so to keep him awake. Minghao stared out the window, examining little towns, watching as rain poured down the windows. It was just above freezing outside, and the three of them found themselves in a frigid rainstorm as they drove along the dark, wooded roads.

Minghao tried to focus more on the past than the future. It put him more at ease. He thought about the first taekwondo class he ever attended with Mingyu. Mingyu always made sure to not make him feel weak or incompetent, even though, when it came to fighting, Minghao felt like he was both. Minghao thought about that day in the hospital when Mingyu joked around with him and threatened to take his IV. He remembered how sad Mingyu was when he felt that he hadn’t been there for him. Noble Ming-Superman. Protector of the weak. Defender of justice. Minghao watched as raindrops collided with one another on his window. _I can protect you too, you know. I’ll find you. Just hold on._

 

“This must be it,” Seungcheol announced as he removed his earbuds from his ears. Minghao looked forward to see the headlights illuminating a collapsing sign. The sign read “West Boeun Elementary.” The paint on much of the sign had nearly been completely erased by decades of weather and entropy, but it was just clear enough to make out under the bright headlights. Seungcheol pulled the car through a tunnel of trees to the property and into an old parking lot adjacent to the school. Seungcheol, Minghao, and Jun hopped out of the car, quickly becoming drenched by the rain. 

“Before it was an elementary school, this place was a big church,” Seungcheol said offhandedly, speaking loudly over the sound of rainfall. “At least, the first floor was. The second floor was an add-on I think.”

“How do you know that?” Minghao asked, squinting to keep rain out of his eyes. 

“My grandparents lived in Boeun when I was a kid,” Seungcheol answered. “It was already closed down by then, but my grandparents still told me the story.”

“Do you think Jeonghan’s got them inside?” Jun asked.

“Why would he bring them here if he wasn’t going to utilize the space?” Seungcheol responded with a twinge of passive aggression. “This place just _looks_ like the setting of a horror film.”

The three boys jogged to the front entrance leading into the school building and took shelter under the awning that hung over the door. Minghao noticed that the lock had been broken off and his heart began to race. Somebody had definitely been there before them. It suddenly occurred to him exactly the severity of what they may have just gotten themselves into. Even so, Minghao stifled the fear that rose up in his chest and swallowed hard. If it were him in there, Mingyu wouldn’t have been scared. 

 

Mingyu was terrified. He sat at the steering wheel while Wonwoo sat in the passenger seat, ready to act if Mingyu made a move. The windshield wipers squeaked against the front window, revealing a single beam of light that illuminated a long road back towards the town. The school and the town were separated by an old stone bridge that stretched across a river that separated new and old Boeun. That’s where they were going. Then, all they’d have to do was wait.

 

Seungcheol shoved the heavy metal door open, and the three of them stepped inside. The space was so vast and open that even the rain that dripped off their coats seemed to echo off paneled walls. Other than the sounds of their feet and Jun shaking raindrops off his hair and onto the floor, there was only silence.

“Okay, guys,” Seungcheol started, breaking out the taekwondo instructor voice, “so let’s figure out a game plan–”

“Check it out, there’s a staircase over there going up. I’ll go that way,” Jun announced. Within moments, he’d already dashed off. 

“Jun!” Seungcheol hissed, quickly quieting himself to not give them away. “I’m going kill that guy. I’m actually going to kill him.”

“Don’t worry. Jun won’t get hurt,” Minghao whispered. “He can take care of himself.”

Seungcheol huffed and shrugged his shoulders a little. “I’m not worried. He can do whatever he wants.”

Minghao exhaled sharply. “You’ll never quell those protective instincts, hyung,” he commented as he moved forward towards a hallway on their right.

Seungcheol caught up with him quickly. He wasn’t about to let Minghao go first into the deep, dark unknown.

Minghao and Seungcheol proceeded quietly and carefully down a hallway lined with classrooms, which were probably first used for Sunday school or as offices. Minghao could hear Seungcheol humming beside him – Minghao guessed it was to keep himself calm – but it made Minghao even more nervous. Besides, the humming itself seemed grossly off-pitch, and was so quiet that it sounded more like a whine than a hum.

“Hey, hyung, could you not hum?” Minghao asked. “Somebody might hear you.”

Seungcheol stopped, grabbing the back of Minghao’s shirt to halt him. “I thought that was you humming.”

Every muscle in Minghao’s body became tensed to run, but he knew he couldn’t run. “Where is that sound coming from?” he asked, trying his best to keep his voice stable.

“Minghao, go back out to the foyer,” Seungcheol ordered. 

“What? No,” Minghao shot back. “You’re not going to wander in here alone.”

“If somebody’s in here, we’re going to have to fight. Now, I can fight. You cannot,” Seungcheol explained, keeping his voice steady and concise. “I promise that I’ll be safer if I don’t have to worry about protecting you if something happens.”

Minghao understood what Seungcheol was saying. Minghao wasn’t nearly as good a fighter as he was, and he knew he’d probably get in the way more than he’d like to. But he couldn’t let Seungcheol go off alone. He just couldn’t.

The two of them heard the sound again. 

Seungcheol looked over his shoulder into the darkness of the deep hallway. “Minghao, you’ve got to trust me, okay? If I’m not back in 10 minutes, find Jun,” Seungcheol advised. “I know you’ve gotten stronger, but this is dangerous.” Seungcheol smiled a little, trying to lift Minghao’s spirits. “I didn’t get decked in the eye and chase two guys down the street for you just so you could get jumped in an abandoned building – and murdered for real this time.”

Minghao gritted his teeth. Seungcheol was right, and more than that, he was fiercely caring. If Minghao got hurt while Seungcheol was supposed to be responsible for him, it’d just kill him. “Okay,” Minghao murmured. “I’ll stand at the end of the hall. Call my name if something happens.”

Seungcheol patted Minghao on the shoulder and smiled. “Don’t worry about me, Hao. Now get out of here.”

Minghao turned and headed back to the foyer, where he stood in front of the hallway and stared down the corridor. He watched as Seungcheol moved further into the dark and eventually turned a corner, disappearing completely. 

 

Seungcheol wandered along the hallway, listening for the sound, but it was quiet. Seungcheol stopped in the middle of the hallway and looked over his shoulder for the fourth or fifth time. There was something about this place that put him on edge more than any place else. 

_Knock. Knock. Knock._

Seungcheol’s breath halted. It sounded like someone was knocking on a door, and it was close by. Seungcheol tried to snap himself out of the fear that had taken hold of his legs. _Choi Seungcheol, you’d better get ghosts out of your mind right now or so help me…_ Seungcheol took a hesitant step forward and, in tandem, he heard it again.

_Knock. Knock. Knock._

Seungcheol had identified exactly what door it was coming from now. He could hear it. He could see the door now that his eyes finally adjusting to the darkness. It looked like a storage closet rather than an office or a classroom. It was only a few doors ahead of him on his left. Seungcheol shuffled forward slowly, moving into full-defense mode as he inched closer and closer to the door. Then he heard the whining again. _Wait._ He listened for a moment. _Oh, crap._ Seungcheol’s shuffling quickly became a dash for the door. _I know that voice._

Seungcheol’s hand flew at the door knob and he hauled the heavy metal door towards himself. He looked down at the ground, and all of his suspicions were confirmed. Seungcheol gaped, his eyes wide.

“Jisoo!”

 

Minghao stayed completely still, listening intently for any sounds. Everything seemed overwhelmingly silent now. It was almost as though the sound of Seungcheol’s footsteps disappeared with him. 

Suddenly, Minghao felt a vibration in his pocket, which made him jump. He muttered a few curses in Chinese and pulled his phone to see who had messaged him. _Yoon Jeonghan._

 

Yoon Jeonghan: Gymnasium.


	13. Please, Let's Go Home

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Okay guys – this is when things get pretty emotionally intense. I want to say that before anybody goes into this with sensitivities to things like suicide, okay? Okay. Here goes nothing.

Yoon Jeonghan: Gymnasium.

 

That’s all he said. This punk had the nerve to be cryptic, after all he’d put them through. Minghao’s blood began to boil. But it was enough to set Minghao in a direction. Minghao wasn’t sure if it was a good idea to go alone, but he certainly couldn’t call out to Seungcheol, which could get them both killed. Minghao turned around and scanned the foyer, but saw nothing leading him to a gymnasium. 

Minghao hesitated for a moment, then looked back down the hallway that Seungcheol had just disappeared into. He listened for a moment to try and decide whether or not Seungcheol was anywhere close by, but he heard nothing. 

_Seungcheol’s gonna kill me,_ Minghao thought. _But what’s running off just one more time?_ So he ran. He didn’t know where to go, but Minghao knew he needed to get to at least get somewhere. He felt in his bones that he was running out of time.

 

Jun marched down the hallway of the second floor looking into classrooms and making a poor attempt at being discreet. The upper floor looked almost like a completely different building – like an actual school instead of a church. The add-on must’ve been a decade newer than the bottom floor. 

Lucky for Jun, these classrooms had windows. Most of them were boarded up with wooden planks, just like all of the other windows in the building, but Jun could still peek through the slabs of wood to check inside. Jun passed classroom after classroom, slightly underwhelmed by how quiet everything seemed to be. Bored, Jun scooped up an old brick that had come off of one of the collapsing walls and tossed it from one hand to the other as he peeked into classrooms.

_203\. Empty. 204. Empty. 205. Empty. 206. Em–holy–_

Jun stepped back from the window into classroom 206. _Holy crap, there’s a guy in there,_ he thought. He stepped forward and looked back through the gap between two panels of wood covering the small window into the room. Somebody was seated against the far wall, his head leaned backward and his eyes closed.

_Oh damn, is he dead?_ Jun thought. He looked at the doorknob to see it was chained and padlocked. Jun quickly realized that someone was trying to keep this person in the classroom. _This must be that kid, Jisoo._

Jun knocked on the window to try and get the guy’s attention. Immediately, the person’s head shot up and he looked around frantically. Jun knocked again. 

“Hey, psst, can you hear me?” Jun whispered loudly. “Are you Hong Jisoo?”

Jeonghan couldn’t hear what Jun was saying, but he knew the sound was coming from the door. Jeonghan stood to his feet and carefully made his way towards the classroom door, both fists clenched and prepared to put up a fight. 

Jun put an eye up against the glass and Jeonghan jumped. Jun could see him mutter a quick, “What the hell?” to himself, but Jun couldn’t hear him. 

“One sec!” Jun called out to Jeonghan. 

Unable to hear what Jun was saying, Jeonghan cupped his hands around his ears. “What?” he asked loudly. Before Jeonghan had a chance to get any closer to the window, Jun had reared back with the brick he’d held in his hand and rammed it against the glass. Jeonghan jumped backward and covered his eyes with his arms. In one motion, Jun had taken most of the glass off of the small window on the classroom door. 

“Hey, are you Hong Jisoo?” Jun asked, finally able to make contact. 

Jeonghan looked at Jun incredulously. “What?”

“I’m here to help you. I’m Jun, a friend of Minghao’s. You’re Hong Jisoo, right?”

Jeonghan hesitated. “Um, yeah, I’m Hong Jisoo. Can you get me out of here?”

“I’m here to help, my friend,” Jun answered. Jun stepped back and examined the padlock holding together the chains on the classroom door. “You may need to give me a second on this.” With all of his might, Jun took the brick in hand and swiped at the padlock, trying to break it open. 

As Jun bashed at the padlock, Jeonghan stood against the door watching anxiously through the broken window. “Jun, whatever you do, you can’t let Minghao get to the bridge,” Jeonghan said.

Jun responded to Jeonghan’s vague advice between blows. “What” _clank_ “does that” _clank_ “even” _clank_ “mean?” With only a few more good hits, the cheap padlock was broken off the chains and Jun was able to pull the chains off of the door. “Got it!” 

As soon as Jun removed the chains from the classroom door, Jeonghan grasped the doorknob and burst out, shocking Jun slightly with his agency.

“Has Minghao seen the note yet?”

Jun’s eyes were still wide with confusion. “Note?”

“Wonwoo isn’t going to let Mingyu jump until Minghao gets to the bridge,” Jeonghan elaborated quickly. “Somebody’s got to beat him there. Wonwoo left a note for Minghao as part of his sick narrative or something. So, if he finds it, he’ll be playing right into Wonwoo’s psychotic vision.”

Jun raised an eyebrow at Jeonghan. “Whoa wait, Wonwoo is here? What did Wonwoo have to do with any of this? Jisoo, did somebody hit you over the head or are you just wildly confused? Is this a trauma thing? Do you need to talk, because I can talk–”

Jeonghan sighed impatiently. “You’ll figure it out. Right now, we’ve got to find Minghao before he finds that note.”

Then, suddenly, a voice piped up from behind them. “Wen Junhui?”

 

Minghao turned a corner to see two large double-doors. Minghao knew that this had to be it. Unsure what he was going to find when he opened the doors, Minghao pushed one of them open only slightly and peeked in. Minghao scanned a section of the large room. The architecture was strangely ornate compared to the basketball hoops against either wall. Minghao could tell that the room must’ve been an auditorium or sanctuary that had been remodeled into a gymnasium. At least, they’d installed hardwood floors and added bleachers. Everything else, however, just looked like a church auditorium. 

Minghao stepped through the double doors and looked around. It looked like somebody had turned on just one of the overhead lights in the center of the room, creating a dim, diffused stream of light pointed directly at the center of the floor. On the ground under the grayish fluorescent light was a piece of notebook paper that had been folded twice and was now laying in the middle of the basketball court.

Minghao wandered over to the center of the floor and picked up the piece of notebook paper. It was very clear to him that he was walking straight into somebody’s game, but Minghao was desperate. If it meant finding Mingyu, Minghao was willing to follow the rules. He unfolded the paper.

 

Kim Mingyu held his head between his hands. “Please, don’t make me write this. This will kill him. Please, don’t make me do this.”  
But Wonwoo didn’t speak. He placed the pencil down in front of Mingyu and waited. 

 

_Minghao,_

_This is Mingyu. I want to tell you first that I’m sorry this had to happen. There were a lot of things that I want to say, but I just couldn’t. Maybe, if you’d taken the time to notice, you would’ve seen that I was struggling too. But it was only ever about you, after all._

 

Minghao could feel the blood in his veins run cold. He kept reading.

 

_But that doesn’t matter now. Those unsaid things are going to have to stay unsaid. You didn’t help me. You can’t help me. I’m going to the bridge now, so that’s that then, I guess. I cared a lot. I really did. I just couldn’t bear to be let down any more._

_From,_

_Kim Mingyu_

Minghao’s hands were shaking. _You didn’t help me._ Minghao read those words over and over again. “No, no, Mingyu, no, no, no.” It was all Minghao could say to himself in that moment. He was hurting, and Minghao didn’t know it. He was hurting. How could he not see how much Mingyu was hurting? Minghao thought back on the last conversation they had together. He racked his brain mercilessly. Still, he saw nothing. _How could I have been this dense? Stupid? Selfish? Naive? Blind?_ Minghao pulled every harsh word he could think of, because it was the only way he knew how to talk to himself. Unable to make sense of it all, Minghao folded up the note and put it in his back pocket. _We passed a bridge. We went over a bridge. I can make it there. I can get there,_ Minghao thought. _I can get there._

Minghao dashed out of the school building into the rain. Seungcheol had they keys so he couldn’t take the car, but he knew that they’d passed the bridge right before getting to the school building, so he couldn’t be too far. So, without another thought, Minghao ran. He ran faster than he’d ever run from Wonwoo or anybody else. This time, Minghao was running _towards_ something instead of running away, and that made all the difference. 

 

Jun and Jeonghan whipped their heads around. Choi Hansol stood there before them, somehow having managed to track down the sound of _somebody_ beating a metal padlock with a brick.

“Hansol!” Jun exclaimed. “What is going on!?”

“How the _hell_ do you keep appearing so quietly out of nowhere like this?” Jeonghan added. 

“Jun, what are you doing here?” Hansol asked. He seemed less distraught than Jun would’ve expected from somebody whose plans were being foiled, which made Jun curious. 

“I decided to team up with the good guys. Pretty neat, huh?” Jun answered. 

“‘Good guys’ is relative,” Hansol returned. “Also, how is Yoon Jeonghan one of the good guys?” he continued, gesturing towards Jeonghan. 

Jun laughed a little. “I don’t know who you think Yoon Jeonghan is, but I’m just here to get my new friend Hong Jisoo to safety. Honestly, you should consider coming too, Hansol. This is no life for a smart kid like you. You don’t want this for yourself.”

Hansol raised his eyebrows. “Wait…” he started, pointing at Jeonghan, “You think he’s…”

Jeonghan bore into Hansol with his eyes. _Don’t you dare._

Hansol had to grit his teeth to keep from laughing. “Oh man, that’s sly, Yoon Jeonghan.” 

Jeonghan cut Hansol off before Jun could process what he was saying. “Look, Wonwoo will have made sure Minghao knows that Mingyu’s at the bridge by now. If Mingyu jumps, Minghao is gonna go in after him, then they’re both dead. I could see it in the way he looked for Mingyu. He’s not gonna let him go. We’ve got to get to Minghao right now.”

Jun threw both hands up in the air, all of his confusion finally culminating in a frustrated epiphany. “Okay, so wait, you’re not Hong Jisoo?”

Jeonghan slapped a palm to his forehead exasperatedly and rubbed his face with his hands.

Hansol folded his arms in front of himself. Ignoring Jun, he spoke: “Well, then you’d better get to Minghao fast then.”

Jeonghan and Jun both stared at Hansol – Jeonghan with a look of surprise and Jun with a look of satisfaction. 

“You’re letting us go?” Jeonghan asked. 

“To be honest, I’m starting to lose interest in what Wonwoo is doing as well,” Hansol answered. “It was something Chan said to me earlier. I’m starting to see now that this isn’t as righteous as Wonwoo had fooled us all into believing it was. So, go. Maybe, just maybe, nobody has to die tonight.” Hansol smiled at Jun, knowing that he’d be happy to hear him throwing in the towel on all of this. “Besides, I am well aware Jeonghan could’ve clobbered me anytime he wanted to. I’m not an idiot. Now get out of here.”

 

Eventually, with Jisoo hanging over his shoulders, Seungcheol gave up on trying to find Minghao where he’d left him. According to Seungcheol’s GPS, the nearest hospital was a few miles further up the road, past the school and into the next town. He knew that he had to get Jisoo help fast or he wasn’t going to make it. But with Minghao not answering his phone and Jun still nowhere to be found, Seungcheol was stuck between a rock and a hard place.

Seungcheol pulled Jisoo into the passenger seat of Minghao’s cousin’s SUV. Frantically, he tried to make Jisoo keep one hand on his head where it was bleeding, but Jisoo was barely responsive at this point. Seungcheol figured he’d been laying on the floor of the storage closet nearly bleeding out through that wound on his head for god knows how long. It seemed like somebody had tried to patch him up by wrapping a thin layer of gauze around his head, but it was completely falling off by the time they’d made it to the car. _Whoever tried to help you sure did a shoddy job,_ Seungcheol thought as he fastened Jisoo’s seatbelt.

As Seungcheol shifted Jisoo around to try and lock his seat buckle, he felt his phone vibrate in his pocket. Nearly in a panic, Seungcheol pulled out his phone and answered without even checking caller ID.

“Hello?” Seungcheol answered. 

“Meet me at the bridge we went over to get here,” Minghao said, panting on the other end of the line. It sounded like he was running as he spoke. 

“Minghao, where did you go?!” Seungcheol found himself yelling into the phone speaker, all composure washed away by the rain and this slippery kid who _apparently_ cannot learn to stay put.

“I found a note. Mingyu is going to do something really bad, and I need to make sure he hasn’t done it yet,” Minghao answered.

Seungcheol looked at Jisoo. His face had paled to a sickly color and Seungcheol knew he had to make a decision right then and there if Jisoo were going to have a chance – or Mingyu, for that matter. “Minghao, I found Jisoo. He’s hurt pretty badly, and I need to get him to a hospital right now. Try and get to Mingyu as fast as you can, and call Jun and tell him to get over there as soon as possible, but until then, please be careful. Don’t try and fight anybody, okay?” Seungcheol pleaded. “I’m begging you, Minghao. Watch yourself.”

Minghao was still panting raggedly on the other end of the line. “I will, Seungcheol, I promise.”

As Seungcheol pulled himself into the driver’s seat of the car, he smiled slightly to himself. “You know, your promises are getting pretty disreputable, Minghao,” he replied. “Mingyu’s really warped you into a courageous bastard, hasn’t he?”

Minghao hesitated, but Seungcheol could hear the lift in his voice on the other end. “He’d not the only one,” Minghao shot back playfully. “I’ll see you soon.” And the call ended.

With a deep sigh, Seungcheol pulled the car into drive. “Nobody’s dying on my watch,” he murmured half to himself and half to Jisoo, who wasn’t even awake to hear what he was saying. “Especially you, Hong Jisoo,” he finished, slamming his foot down on the accelerator. And with that, Seungcheol sped off into the rainy darkness.

 

“Your call has been forwarded to an automated voice mess–” Minghao cut off the recording and shoved his phone into his back pocket. _That idiot probably left his cellphone in the car,_ Minghao thought to himself. As much as Jun was working to redeem himself after all of these years, Minghao sometimes questioned his savvy in certain areas of life. But Minghao couldn’t think about that right now. He knew he couldn’t have been running for very long based on the time on his phone, but it felt like he was running for ages. He followed the road through the rain, occasionally slipping on a muddy patch or having to slick wet hair back out of his eyes. He followed distant street lights that signaled he was getting closer to the town, which meant he was almost at the bridge. 

Minghao saw the frame of the large iron bridge emerge before him as he finally rounded the corner out of the wooded path. The bridge seemed longer now that they weren’t traveling down it in a car. The bridge was made of stone and framed with iron and had to have been 30 meters wide and 100 meters long. This also made Minghao realize how wide the river was – and how far down. 

Minghao stepped up to the center of the road and walked onto the bridge where pavement transitioned into stone. He was frozen in place. There was Mingyu. He could see him in the center of the railing on one side. He was sitting down with his feet dangling over the edge, overlooking the river. 

Minghao wasn’t sure how to approach Mingyu. He was afraid if he got too close, Mingyu would do something stupid. But Minghao could feel the urgency pulling at him, knowing that if he hadn’t jumped yet, he still could at any moment. Finally, Minghao shuffled across the bridge a little closer, close enough that he could call out to Mingyu.

“Mingyu!” Minghao called. 

Mingyu turned his head slowly to look at Minghao. They stared at each other for a moment, neither one sure what to say. 

Minghao continued, making his way slowly closer to Mingyu, both hands out in front of him. “Mingyu, listen to me. You’ve got to hold on, buddy. Just for one more day. Can you just give it another day? Could you do that for me?” Minghao asked, trying to keep his voice steady for Mingyu’s sake.

Mingyu stood to his feet and Minghao froze where he stood. Mingyu stood with one hand gripping the iron railing, rain-soaked hair sticking to his forehead. Finally, he spoke. “I’m sorry,” he muttered. Minghao could tell his voice was broken from crying. 

“Hey, come on, you’ve got nothing to be sorry for, alright?” Minghao replied. “Let’s go home. Please, let’s just go home, okay? Okay, Ming-Superman?” Minghao pleaded, desperation now coming through in his voice.

Mingyu smiled sadly. He could see now what Minghao had accomplished – how far he’d come. He was stronger now. Somehow it helped, but more than that, it hurt.

Mingyu slowly removed his hand from the iron railing and Minghao stepped forward slightly. “Mingyu, please don’t. Please, just get down from there, Mingyu.” Minghao couldn’t make an effort to mask his desperation any longer. His voice had deteriorated into a begging cry. 

“Minghao,” Mingyu said over the sound of rainfall, stopping Minghao in his tracks. With one final deep breath, Mingyu spoke sadly. “I’m sorry I couldn’t protect you forever, friend.”


	14. My Good, Kind People

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> This is it. The place where it all ends. 
> 
> Warning: This chapter contains the most nauseatingly weepy content I have ever written in my life, and I loved every moment of it. I love tragedy and sadness. I'm a masochist, sue me. And Gyuhao care so much about each other. I cry.

The rain had begun to sound like silence.

_He did it. He jumped._

Minghao screamed out to Mingyu, but it just sounded drawn-out to his ears. He started to run after Mingyu, but somebody had captured him in their arms. It was Jun.

“Minghao, stop,” Jun said frantically.

Minghao tried to pry Junhui’s hands off of him, but he was already exhausted from the threatening sobs. “Let go! I can save him! Let go of me!” Minghao cried.

Jun let Minghao crumple to the ground, his arms still wrapped tightly around him, fingers locked together. Jun pulled Minghao back into himself and tried to think of any soothing words he could muster, but he couldn’t find anything in his head that could ease this kind of pain. Minghao had descended into sobs that were drowned out by the sound of the rain. Jun held onto him tightly. 

“I’m sorry. I’m so sorry, Minghao,” Jun murmured, letting Minghao weep against his arm. “I’m so sorry.”

Amid the chaos and the grief, Jun didn’t even notice Yoon Jeonghan race past him and Minghao. Jeonghan dashed to the iron railing and threw off his jacket. Jun called out to him, telling him he was out of his mind, but Jeonghan ignored him. Minghao looked up just in time to see Jeonghan climb up onto the metal frame of the bridge and dive into the water after Mingyu.

Jun and Minghao raced to the opposite side of the bridge to see if they could catch a glimpse of Jeonghan or Mingyu coursing down the river. Miraculously, Jeonghan had survived the jump. Jun and Minghao saw him paddling along the edge of the water, disappearing again and again under the surface and coming up for air every few moments. Jun called out to him to be careful, and all Minghao could find in himself to do was to beg whatever out there was willing to listen. _Please, let him save Mingyu._

Suddenly, Jeonghan reemerged from the dark water gripping tightly to a rather heavy Kim Mingyu. He made his way a few more meters down the river until he could finally make it back onto the shore, dragging Mingyu along with him. Inch by inch, Jeonghan was able to heave Mingyu up onto the sandy riverbank. Quickly, Jun and Minghao noticed that Mingyu was not only alive, but he was conscious, convulsing in coughs on the riverbank. They both cheered loudly, and Jun picked Minghao up in a celebratory embrace. 

 

Jeonghan breathed heavily, exhausted from pulling Mingyu through the water and onto the shore. Shaggy hair was sticking to his forehead and his clothes were suctioned to him after being drenched in river and rain. He collapsed on his back for a moment to catch his breath, then rolled over towards Mingyu, who was still violently coughing up river water. “Are you okay?” Jeonghan asked. 

Once Mingyu had cleared most of the water from his lungs, he let his head fall back against the sandy ground. His head felt like it was about to explode. “I think something is broken,” Mingyu replied, straining to even speak.

“Probably most of your ribs, genius,” Jeonghan replied, unable to suppress a triumphant smile. He was feeling pretty heroic. “Consider this a thanks for staying by Jisoo’s side for all of these years.”

Mingyu smiled to himself, eyes closed, letting the rain fall onto his face. “I’m not going to forget about him,” he murmured.

Jeonghan looked out over the water, smiling sadly. “Neither will I.”

 

Wonwoo watched from the car, which was parked hidden around the corner of the bridge. As soon as he saw Jeonghan dive in after Mingyu, Wonwoo jumped out to watch see what was going on. He watched as Jeonghan pulled Mingyu ashore, and didn’t bother to wait around any longer before he threw open the passenger side door in a fit of rage. Quickly, Wonwoo grabbed the baseball bat out of the passenger seat and slammed the door shut. _This is going to end right now,_ he decided. 

Once Minghao finally forced Jun to put him down, he ran to grab Jeonghan’s coat. “Let’s get down there,” Minghao said anxiously, kneeling to grab the coat off of the ground. But when he didn’t get a reply from Jun, he stood up and turned around, repeating himself impatiently. “Come on, let’s get–” Minghao turned just in time to see a baseball bat coming at his head, only barely ducking out of the way. It was Wonwoo, who seemed to come completely out of nowhere. Minghao scrambled away from Wonwoo and glanced over at Jun, who was lying unconscious on the ground a few meters away. 

“I’m done with this,” Wonwoo growled, swinging at Minghao again. 

Minghao managed to deflect the bat with his hands, but not without some recoil. Minghao pulled his hands in close to himself and gritted his teeth to endure the pain.

“I’ve had enough of you.” Wonwoo swung again, this time from above. Again, Minghao was only barely able to twist out of the way of the swing. He luckily managed to get some distance between himself and Wonwoo, giving him a moment to check on Junhui. Jun still hadn’t moved, which made Minghao worried, but he didn’t have very much time to dwell on it before Wonwoo ran at him again, brandishing the bat. 

 

Jeonghan helped Mingyu to slowly make his way back up the slope to the far-end of the bridge. He couldn’t see what was happening on the other side of the bridge, but some kind of action seemed to have broken out. “What’s going on up there?” Jeonghan asked. 

Mingyu struggled to keep his footing. “Is Minghao still up there?” he asked. 

“Yeah, I think so,” Jeonghan said, straining to see. 

“Wonwoo was hanging around somewhere,” Mingyu said gravely. “If he knows that you pulled me out, there ’s no telling what he’s going to do.”

“Jun’s up there with him, which could either be very good or very bad,” Jeonghan muttered. 

Mingyu stared at Jeonghan. “Who’s Jun?”

Jeonghan grabbed Mingyu by the upper arm and continued to pull him up the steep slope leading out of the ravine. “One of the good guys.”

 

Minghao knew he couldn’t keep up this dodging tactic much longer. He had to make a move, or Wonwoo would just keep going at it until Minghao was too tired to run. In a panic, Minghao dashed around Wonwoo over to Jun, who was laying just a few meters away. 

He crouched down beside Jun and shook him frantically. “Jun, wake up,” Minghao said in a panic. “I need help. Please wake up.”

Jun groaned and Minghao saw his hands move a little, but Minghao could tell he was still completely out of commission. Minghao looked back to see Wonwoo ambling over, gripping the bat with both hands.

“Still as pathetic as you ever were,” Wonwoo sneered. “Running away from fights still comes easily to you.”

Minghao stood up and started backing away from Wonwoo. Eventually, he felt his back hit the iron frame of the bridge and he looked backward over the railing into the water. _Mingyu survived that jump. I bet I could too,_ he contemplated. But when Minghao looked back to Wonwoo, he’d gotten much closer than Minghao had expected him to be and was rearing back with the bat. Minghao ducked out of the path of the swing just in time for it to narrowly graze inches from the top of his head, nearly catching stray hairs. The force of the swing was so much that, when the bat made contact with the railing, the wood completely shattered, breaking the bat in two. Shards of wood went flying and were scattered all along the ground, causing Wonwoo to curse loudly. All that was left in his hands was a bit of the handle. 

“Minghao!” somebody shouted from a distance. 

Minghao and Wonwoo both turned to the other end of the bridge, where they could see Mingyu and Jeonghan making their way up the last few meters. Mingyu called out his name again, telling him to be careful.

Wonwoo tossed the handle aside and knelt down towards the ground to pick up a large shard of splintered wood to replace his previous weapon. Minghao could quickly tell by Wonwoo’s posture and calculating gaze that, in an instant, his trajectory had changed. Wonwoo was about to go after Mingyu. 

In that same moment, Wonwoo started to run. He was headed towards the other side of the bridge – straight towards Jeonghan and Mingyu. Suddenly, Minghao felt something shift inside of him, an immediate response to Wonwoo’s change of target. It all happened in just a few seconds, but Minghao's blood was pumping with charged adrenaline, causing him to process a million thoughts all at one time. 

With no hesitation, Minghao lunged into Wonwoo, grabbing him by both shoulders and yanking backwards. Minghao twisted around so that they both landed on the ground, dazing Wonwoo momentarily from the impact. Minghao grabbed hold of the wooden shard and scrambled to his feet, trying to pry it from Wonwoo's hands, but Wonwoo was strong. Minghao only narrowly redirected the jabs shot at him by Wonwoo, both of their hands still glued to the weapon. Finally, Wonwoo threw Minghao to the side and into the iron railing, Minghao just barely keeping his footing by clinging to the rails. 

Meanwhile, Jun had finally gotten himself up into a sitting position. With both hands gripping his head, Jun fought to remember where he was and what it was that he was doing. All he knew was that his head was throbbing and his vision was being clouded by lights.

Wonwoo turned back to Mingyu and Jeonghan, who'd finally made it up the slope. Mingyu was still calling Minghao's name. They were running towards him and Wonwoo. Minghao screamed for them to turn around.

 

One second.

 

_"Everybody needs somebody who's willing to fight for them.”_ Minghao remembered Mingyu’s words.

 

Two seconds. 

 

_Even Ming-Superman._ Minghao took a breath.

 

Three seconds. 

 

_I can protect you too, Kim Mingyu._

 

Minghao found himself standing in a split second window in which Wonwoo's back was turned and his attention was captured by Jeonghan and Mingyu. In a last effort to keep Wonwoo from Mingyu, Minghao pushed himself away from the rails to reach for the wooden shard one more time, but Wonwoo was ready for him. He whipped around and, before Minghao even had time to process his mistake, Wonwoo had grabbed him roughly by the shoulder and thrust forward with the jagged piece of wood. Minghao’s breath caught in his throat as the sharp pain exploded from the center of his abdomen outward.

“It’s a little late to be finding your courage, Minghao.” Wonwoo grasped the jagged, dense wood so hard that blood had began to trickle down his own fingers. “If only you’d been this brave before my little brother killed himself.” Wonwoo hissed in Minghao’s ear as Minghao crumpled onto his knees, grasping the sleeve of Wonwoo’s jacket. 

Only a split second later, Jeonghan was able to tackle Wonwoo to the ground, snatching the shard of wood from his hands. In true, ruthless Jeonghan fashion, it only took a few good seconds to quickly have Wonwoo back on his feet and pinned against the railing. Jun, who’d finally gotten his bearings back after being incapacitated by Wonwoo, stood up and ran to Jeonghan and Wonwoo to help keep Wonwoo restrained. 

Sounds became both amplified and slowed down in Minghao’s ears. It seemed as though Wonwoo’s voice was coming from inside of his own head – the only thing emerging from the numbness. Outside of himself, he could hear Mingyu screaming out to him. His voice seemed much more distant, as if calling Minghao out of a dream. Minghao balanced on his knees for a moment before feeling two hands grasp both of his shoulders. 

“Minghao, keep your eyes open,” Mingyu said, trying to hold Minghao upright. “You’re okay, bud, you’re okay.”

Minghao’s vision had become dark. He could hear Mingyu’s voice, and he recognized Mingyu’s features, but he was fading. Minghao fell forward against Mingyu’s chest, who caught him with both arms. 

Mingyu did his best to gather up Minghao in his arms. “No, no, no, hey, you’ve got to stay awake, Minghao. You’ve got to stay with me.” Mingyu’s voice broke as he pleaded with Minghao. “Please, keep your eyes open, Minghao.” 

“Wonwoo, no!” Jun’s voice rang out in the night. As soon as Mingyu could glance over, Jeonghan and Jun were reaching over the railing, hands outstretched. Jun crouched down on the ground, his face in his hands, and Jeonghan stood watching the rushing river in shock. Wonwoo had jumped.

“Where’s Wonwoo?” Minghao murmured softly. He was afraid Wonwoo would hurt Mingyu too.

“Jeonghan and Jun tried to pull him back, but…” Mingyu replied dolefully, trying to keep Minghao’s hair out of his face. “He’s gone.”

What was that in Mingyu’s voice? Mingyu was crying. Why was he crying?

“Hey, hey, stay with me. I’m not gonna let you die. You gotta stay with me,” Mingyu begged, but Minghao could barely hear him. All Minghao knew was that there were tears in Mingyu’s eyes. 

“Hey, don’t cry,” Minghao said quietly. A gentle, reassuring smile began to form at the corners of Minghao’s mouth. “What are you crying for? Come on, Superman.” Minghao’s voice was so fragile, just like on the day Mingyu first met him.

“Does it hurt?” Mingyu started, stumbling a little over his words as he choked back the sobs, “I mean, are you feeling any pain?”

Minghao shook his head. “No,” he answered gently.

Mingyu smiled through the tears that had welled up in his eyes. “I’m glad,” he whispered, hugging Minghao even more tightly against himself. 

Jeonghan had crouched down next to Jun, who was watching mournfully, leaning back against the frame of the bridge. Jun let his gaze fall to the ground, and Jeonghan placed a hand on his shoulder. He could feel Jun shake slightly as he quietly cried, his hand covering his eyes. 

“Mingyu?” Minghao started, almost as though he wasn’t sure whether or not Mingyu was still there. 

It made Mingyu’s heart ache. Minghao was just barely with him now. “What is it, bud?”

“You told me once to find some good, kind people and then tell you if I still felt the same way about being alone. Well, I found my good, kind people, and you were right. I get it now. Good people make you brave, I think. And now, I couldn’t imagine being alone again.” Minghao’s voice was fading. “And I’m glad you’re here with me. I really am.”

With arms wrapped protectively around Minghao, Mingyu wept as quietly as he could muster so to not interrupt him. But Minghao didn’t speak after that.

“Minghao?” Mingyu’s blood ran cold as he was met with silence. He rested his forehead against Minghao’s and asked again, this time knowing, in the back of his mind, there would be no answer. “Minghao?” Mingyu continued to shudder in shaky sobs. He knew that Minghao was gone.

Unable to bear the sight any longer, Jeonghan looked away too. Mingyu and Minghao remained there in a vacuum for a few moments. The only sounds that could be heard were the mournful gasps and weeping from Mingyu. He’d tried so hard to protect Minghao.

But Minghao was safe now. And he would never again feel any pain. 

 

 

 

_Lights. Screeching Wheels. “Clear.” Panic. “Clear.” Once more. “Clear.” Sighs. Tears._

 

 

 

…Until he woke up in the hospital a few days later. As great as painkillers are, they’re rarely ever perfect. 

Lucky for Minghao, someone was wise enough to remember that ambulances do exist and they exist for a reason. Once Seungcheol has gotten Jisoo all set back in town, he quickly rallied the EMTs at the hospital and explained to them what was going on. Immediately, the hospital was sent into red alert mode, prepping a horde of ambulances to get to the bridge as quickly as they could. Seungcheol made it to the bridge just in time with a cavalry of ambulances, and within minutes, the EMTs were able to defibrillate Minghao back to responsiveness.

“How does it feel to be resuscitated, Minghao?” Hoshi asked. “Did you, like, ‘see the light’ and all that?”

“Hoshi, honestly,” Seungcheol reprimanded, “you cannot just ask someone, days after their near-death experience if they ‘saw the light.’ It’s not in good taste.”

“I drove all the way out here to see Minghao!” Hoshi defended indignantly. “I just wanted to know if he saw Shekinah glory, that’s all!”

Mingyu sat on the edge of Minghao’s bed, holding Minghao’s hand in his own. “I mean… I’m kind of curious to know too…”

Seungcheol rolled his eyes. “I’m friends with a bunch of morons.”

It was times like these when Minghao was thankful that these were the kind of people who were willing to badger the nurse into letting them all into the room at once. 

“Hello, friends!” True to his character, Jun entered the room with a smile on his face and a sashay in his step. “I’m here and I brought snacks! I just got done chatting with Jisoo in room 223, and he seems like a nice kid. Oh, also, did I hear something about ‘seeing the light,’ because I want to hear that story.”

Seungcheol put his face in his hands. Minghao laughed.

“Shift, pretty boy,” Jun instructed Mingyu, squeezing himself into Minghao’s bed. 

Slightly aggravated, Mingyu moved slightly aside, but only enough to not seem stubborn.

“How are you doing, Minghao?” Jun asked, placing a hand affectionately on Minghao’s leg.

“Hey, hey, whoa there,” Mingyu remarked, slapping Jun’s hand away. “That’s enough of that.”

Hoshi laughed as Minghao turned a flushed shade of red. “You’re both dumb,” Minghao commented indignantly. “Also, get off my bed. It’s getting way too hot up here.”

“Hey, once you’re better, Minghao, I still want to go to Myeongdong to try that spicy chicken,” Mingyu said, shoving Jun off the hospital bed.

“Minghao is not allowed to eat spicy chicken,” Seungcheol said in a cautionary tone. “He’s still recovering from internal bleeding. He doesn’t need spicy food.”

“Let’s do it,” Minghao said. “no spicy chicken can hurt more than getting stabbed.”

Hoshi doubled over laughing at Minghao’s justification for eating spicy chicken, Seungcheol was mortified by it, and Jun was somewhere in between. 

Mingyu just placed his hand on top of Minghao’s head and gently rocked it side to side. “You’re on.”

 

As much as the EMTs searched, Wonwoo was never found in the river. However, they did get in contact with his two partners, Hansol and Lee Chan, who met up with Jun at the Boeun police station. After they were released from questioning by the Boeun police, Jun got Seungcheol to drive them back to Seoul. Of course, Seungcheol made damn sure the boys got a stern talking to before they were allowed to leave the vehicle. Neither of the boys felt very much attachment to their current situation, so much so that Lee Chan decided to start a suicide awareness campaign in his school his sophomore year in honor of Wonwoo’s younger brother. And Hansol decided to join Seungcheol’s taekwondo class.

Once Hansol told Jeonghan that he’d kept Jisoo alive behind Wonwoo’s back, Jeonghan wasn’t sure whether to throttle him for not saying anything or embrace him for saving Jisoo’s life. 

“Hansol, why didn’t you tell me this when you had us cornered back at the school?!”

“I was hoping if you kept thinking he was dead you’d give that piece of shit Wonwoo a good slap-around.”

The only person that Jeonghan spoke to before he left Seoul was Jisoo. Once Jeonghan was able to see him again and offer an apology to him for all those years, he found himself surprisingly at peace. Jisoo wasn’t necessarily ready to forgive him, but he was ready to hear him, and Jeonghan was grateful. And Jisoo was glad that Jeonghan had survived all of it. On top of that, Jeonghan was satisfied with what he was able to do to help Minghao and Mingyu, and he was thankful that they were able to offer him some kind of atonement after all of these years. And he knew now that Jisoo would be all right. He had people who could look after him now. Even better, Jisoo was standing on his own two feet for the first time in a long time. And that’s all Jeonghan ever wanted, after all. 

After the winter break ended, Mingyu and Minghao graduated high school successfully, and Minghao decided he’d stay in Seoul for a little longer. After all, full tuition at Seoul National University was hard for Minghao to turn down. Mingyu joined him there to study criminal justice, and despite Minghao’s rigorous schooling as a pre-med major, he found himself venturing into Hoshi’s acrobatic dance class every now and again. As it turns out, he found that dancing came much more naturally to him than taekwondo. Seungcheol claimed that he didn’t take it personally, but he also made sure Minghao kept his self-defense skills sharp, especially if that meant putting him in a surprise headlock every once in a while. 

And, of course, Mingyu and Minghao continued to go to Nagomi Noodles three or four times a week. Sometimes to eat, other times just to talk, but the two of them never strayed very far from one another. Jisoo approached their table with their noodles one day and said in passing, “You know, Minghao, you’re really lucky to have a best friend like Mingyu.”

Minghao broke apart his chopsticks and grabbed the poached egg off the top of Mingyu’s ramen, causing Mingyu to whine. 

Popping the egg into his mouth, Minghao replied: “I know I am.”


End file.
